According to a report on CNN this morning a massive search is underway in western Nevada to find Steve Fossett the 63-year-old world aviation and sailing record-holder.

Apparently Fossett (who with his 12-strong crew broke the world speed record aboard his 125ft maxicat Cheyenne in 2002) took off in a single engine plane from a private air strip near Smith Valley, 30 miles south of Yerington, Nevada, at 0900 on Monday morning in good weather, with enough fuel for four to five hours of flight but failed to return to base by his eta of midday. Six hours later the search across hundreds of miles of rugged terrain in western Nevada began.

Helicopters and planes from Naval Air Station Fallon, in Fallon, Nevada, the Nevada Air National Guard and the California Highway Patrol are helping in the search which resumed again this morning [Wednesday].