Posted by
Sam Heath on Wednesday, September 05, 2007 9:25:24 AM
Anyone familiar with the 1955 SciFi film “This Island Earth” knows the scene where the small aircraft is captured by a flying saucer. And a whole lot of us are going to be disappointed if the search for Fossett turns out to be something really prosaic rather than him and his plane suddenly vanishing and never heard from again. But my hopes are up since the Citabria is a very strong bird and rated for aerobatics and a locater beacon signal has not been reported. Fossett is (was?) a very experienced pilot so it is going to be interesting to see how the story unfolds. Possibly as strange as space aliens is the stories of planes landing by themselves without damage, so no impact radio signal, after the pilot has been rendered unconscious. But what if Fossett decided to land in Area 51? Hey, he’s a known adventurer. I know I’m probably doomed to disappointment but I’m pinning my hopes on another episode of the Twilight Zone.
I will point out that improbable as it seems properly trimmed the plane could virtually land itself if Fossett was incapacitated. It is perplexing since he could have radioed any difficulty like a forced landing, and the location transmitter on board can be activated manually.