It’s been five days since adventurer Steve Fossett disappeared in the Nevada desert. So far, searchers have found half a dozen previously unknown crash sites, but no sign of Fossett’s plane.
Earlier we reported that his friend Richard Branson was using Google Earth to try to located him. Amazon is now involved as well, and has set up a Mechanical Turk project where volunteers can view recent satellite photos and search for the plane. The project is located here. Amazon also gives instructions on that page to view the images in Google Earth.
A similar project was created to search for computer scientist Jim Gray when he was lost at sea earlier this year, but Gray was never found.
Please help if you can. Thanks for the tip, Jon.
At least Web X.0 is being used for something valuable now. I wonder if any of the aggregaters can get a hold of more current satellite imagery. I have heard that the Google Earth algorithm doesn’t necessarily used the most -recent- images, it just uses the “best” ones, based on a lot of Mountain View black magic.
Either way, I wish them all the best in the search. This is the real point of all this crap isn’t it? Actually improving the lot of humanity, or at least giving it the old college try.
Good use of Technology for a good cause. I wish them all the best in the search as well.
Isn’t that so weird that half a dozen crashes went unfound until now. Amazing what they can do when they put their time into it. I hope they find him!
Well everybody should try to do whatever they can. It does not matter which way.
If using Amazon Turk can help …so be it.
http://www.imageblox.com
Now that is some REAL front page technology news for a change
I assume this same type of search(at least tax payer funded)…would be used in the event of a regular joe’s plane disappearing? Probably not
Usually I would agree with you on something like that #6, but in this case I think the nice thing is that free, powerful technology like this is available to anyone with a computer and an internet connection. It’s putting control back in the hands of citizens.
Whether this would have received the coverage it has is quite another story…Regardless, back on the support train — good luck to all involved.
Yes it is amazing what great benefit technology can be put towards when it suits those with the control to make it so. And yes, the best of luck in this, yet another massively coordinated search effort.
But that all being said, if Mr. Fossett turns up missing for good as has Mr. Gray, it will seem…well, a bit odd. Both men are highly successful and no doubt influential in their respective fields, obviously. So while it may seem a bit out of left field and perhaps far-fetched, I can’t but help be struck with the thought that perhaps there’s some sort of cover-up/foul play/etc. involved here (just think WWII -> missing scientists).
Regardless, my best wishes in success to all involved!
I hope Fossett is safe, but adventurers like him need to think about the consequences that come with putting their lives at risk and take responsibility for their own life. It’s not fair to the people that care about them or rescuers who spend time and risk their own lives to find them.
All this story does is sensationalize wealthy, well-connected “adventurers” who get themselves into bad situations because they are overconfident and underprepared.
I scanned images for Jim Gray, and now I find myself scanning images in google earth for Steve Fossett. The shadows of the trees and the elevation changes make it seem like this is an even more difficult search then the one at sea for Jim Gray.
Technology usage at its best.
I believe that this case would give out positive results… not like Gray. My prayers for him..
Hopefully the search effort would be successful
Wow. Good luck on the search, and kudos to Amazon for the Mechanical Turk. It’s an incredible technology…If they find him, it would be a remarkable thing in so many ways….
I echo the comments above about using todays technology for this search. As a former Navy satellite sensor interpreter (circa mid 80’s) it is great to see this kind of tech being used in a group effort. Imaging satellites are very clear and to see them used for something positive is good. I am sure todays satellites are even more powerful than the amazing shots I used to view almost 30 years ago.
Why cant the CIA use this thing to find OBL? It would be like a national game of Where’s Waldo…
This seems to have good intentions, but it feels like it’s making me jump through hoops in order to contribute. I followed your link and on the project’s main page, I found a photo which seemed like something about it was a little odd. I wanted to submit it for a second look, but in order to do so, I had to visit a few web-forms and fill out my personal information. After jumping through these hoops, the photo I was originally looking and and wanted to submit was no longer there – the page had refreshed and I had been presented with a new photo to look over.
Liron that probably just means that another person in the mob processed the photo while you were officially registering. Once you sign up and log in you should be able to process lots of HITs with no interruption, at least that was my experience in looking for Jim Gray.
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I rememeber my friend watch classic movie called “ALIVE”. It’s about starving plane-crash passagers eat humans. They ate humans and tear meat strings like Tiger. They were roaring like Klingons.
I just completed a few HITs, hope others can do the same!
I have written about Mechanical Turk when it first came out 2-3 years ago. I think it is a landmark platform and we are only now seeing how it can be used. I cannot be bothered to perform Hits for 25 cents, too boring. This I will gladly do for free. There are over 12,000 pictures to look at. 5-10 people are asked to look at the same picture for accuracy. Lots of people need to chip in.
Mech Turk is one way… Presumably they are asking users to search satellite photos taken within the last few days. They should try aligning photos taken before and after the crash, and then subtracting the images (after adjusting for clouds, lighting conditions, etc.) looking for differences. I think the folks at NASA used something similar to detect the dust devils on mars with the cameras on Spirit.
I wonder if the six other crashes they found were as ‘important’ as this crash.
@Jedi Wright
Ever read Atlas Shrugged? People disappearing on planes? Certainly makes you think…. =)
This is a great project, and I intend on adding my efforts to the cause. I also wonder if one could automate the photo analysis process since the parameters of what to look for in the photos is known. For instance a photo of interest would have mostly non-linear objects with dirty, scrubby colours and the plane would be a very stark white.
Wish I was a programmer; I’d love to work on this sort of thing. But for now, I’ll get to work with that mushy, gray computer in my head.
Cheers
Just spent a while looking around one of the search areas. A plane is clearly visible here:
38°28′55.74″N
119°24′18.16″W
What does a crashed plane look like? Is it likely to be like this or is this in one in the air?
This is not fair. Why are Google and Amazon helping with this search, just because Steve Fossett is rich? If I get lost in the desert, I don’t think Google or Amazon will give a shit. I make about $100,000 per year, so I am not rich.
Seriously, screw this. Steve Fossett took extra risk on himself, he is an adventurer. If I have an accident in the desert nobody will care.
@jesse
Flying a Super Decathlon around is hardly what I’d call high risk activity. It’s a small plane that travels at a top speed of less than 130 kts. I don’t think this is something unreasonbale that he should have avoided for fear of the effort people have put in to find him. Besides, no one has been forced to look for him.
See http://www.amer...ath/sdspecs.htm
@jack
Perhaps the attention generated from this will make it easier in the future for people to conduct searches for ‘average’ people?
@jeremy
Umm, maybe because he is well known, especially in tech circles, and has lots of friends who want to and can help?
As I said to jesse, I don’t think this was something unreasonable that he was doing. Should paramedics not respond to someone who was hit by a car while riding a bike?
I don’t think your income is the reason that people wouldn’t bother looking for you!
This is a great use of technology.
@ Lee: Indeed there is an airplane right there, it is really interesting — it seems like a hard spot to land, but it is definitely an airplane… who do we report this to?
I am also encouraging the search for him. He’s a nice guy, do what you can.
http://fakestev...ntinues_05.html
The first time I attempted to flag an image Yes and enter some clarifying details, I received an error.
The image, with the original on the left and a contrast-enhanced circle around what I was flagging on the right:
http://i3.photo...302122231_4.jpg
The file name of the original image is 0302122231_4.jpg if that is of any significance.
The likelihood is that it’s my eyes playing tricks, but I really didn’t want to ignore this error, just in case…
What ever happened to the black box or a GPS locater? Shouldn’t his plane have had some sort of beacon? AFAIK the FAA requires such a thing, and given his flight path he should have dropped off the radar and that should be recorded as where and when. I just don’t see why it’s so hard to find his plane – not at all.
have the images been adjusted to be so dark on purpose and hopefuly contrast to the plane? Or is it just my computer?
Deniz,
I don’t know who to report it to. I flagged it, but they must get hundreds of those. Do you think it’s on the ground? I can’t tell if it’s a shadow around it, indicating it’s in the air, or whether there is a clearing where it could have crashed.
@dustin
GA aircraft don’t require a black box, like an airliner. However, almost all require an ELT (emergency locater transmitter). The ELT is designed to start transmitting an emergency signal in the event of a impact. However, it’s possible that the ELT didn’t work for some reason, or that there was no impact.
The ELT has a switch which allows manual activation, should the pilot choose to turn it on. Also, FAA annual inspection requirements for aircraft generally require the battery on an ELT to be replaced, at worst, every two years.
I guess the biggest thing here is Steve Fosset being missing period, could have very, very, very easily have been prevented. He could have a satellite phone, a beacon on his plane, a gps unit, etc. All things that I would have done at the very least. I don’t get why he is missing period, still. Can someone fill me in please? How does a plane go missing with a flight plan? Was he flying some stealth sesna smuggling drugs or something? No.
@dustin
Also, radar coverage is not 100% in the country. Additionally, it is typically passive radar, not active (like military). That is, ATC’s ‘radar’ sends out a signal. A transponder in the plane responds to the ATC signal, and the round trip time (plus the angular position of the radar transmitter) is used to determine the position of the plane.
Transponders are not always required in planes, though I suspect the Decathlon has one. Even if they are, you don’t have to have it on unless you are in certain airspace. And, as I mentioned before, it might not matter if you are out of radar converage area. This is pretty common in the west, around the desert and mountains, and flying at low altitudes.
Thanks Joe, I certainly was wondering. I guess his ELT failed on impact maybe? Is that likely? How come at the point he drops off radar we can’t pinpoint that spot/time and narrow it down from 600 mile radius to WAY, WAY less? Was he even not on radar? That seems weird.
@Lee
Definitely an airplane, but probably one in flight since there is no damage trail left in the brush. However, just to be safe, I passed the info to Sgt. Bennett at the Rescue Coordination Center in Langley as it’s definitely worth checking out. She said she will pass it on to the team handling the Fosset search. Good eye Lee!
Nevermind – Steve Fosset being rich and all, and taking off from the Hilton magnates strip filed no Flight plan. This still doesn’t explain how he isn’t on any radar, even in Nevada – wait is he? He was around/near plenty of radar pickups – esp military. What does the FAA have to say to this? No flight plan so his plane never showed on radar or they have no idea where he was going? And quote:
” Ryan said authorities are analyzing information from radar intelligence to try to track Fossett.
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.”
http://www.cnn....sing/index.html
So where is he? We can’t pinpoint his spot on radar last and narrow down his position? Seriously, did he just disappear? A 600 mile radius on a plane and all these people looking for him and nothing. I don’t get it – AT ALL.
On one hand I am sad because the dude is not found yet. But on the other, amazing how Technology can do wonderful things.
Lee–
I reported your find (crediting you, of course) through the Amazon Turk thing. We’ll see what they find — it’s definitely A plane…
@dustin
Under VFR (visual flight rules) in the airspace he was flying in, you don’t need to file a flight plan. That’s very common, and completely legal, and has nothing to do with his financial status. In fact, a flight plan might do you no good if you are not flying between two points. He was apparently going to scout out areas for a land speed record he was going to attempt, and was likely flying over a large area. If so, how do you file a flight plan for this? It might not reduce the area they have to search at all.
You are actually only required to file a flight plan for IFR (instrument flight rules) flights.
Keep in mind that the plane was probably flying very low (since he was surveying spots on the ground) and slow (plane has a top speed of 145 mph, and was likely going slower). It might have been in and out of even military radar coverage.
It’s probably 400 mile radius tops, but that’s still 500,000 square miles! They are probably searching based on estimates of where he was likely to have been flying, instead of the whole of the area centered on the departure airport.
Thanks again Joe for clarifying. I am actually quite upset he hasn’t been found because I find it so hard to believe we lost track, or didn’t have a record of his plane, or that he wasn’t prepared with the simplest gadget he could afford that would able us to certainly pinpoint him. 400 miles is better than 600, but still, on a small plane, thats a huge distance and in my honest and humble opinion it should be something more like 10-20 miles. Perhaps it’s time to change something fundamentally so this doesn’t happen again. Very sad when a huge and influential magnate can drop out of the sky without anyone knowing where.
@Lee
Also re: your find, the plane you see is not in the earlier Google satellite data, only the GeoEye Ikonos 1m dataset taken this week, so it’s definitely either an airborne airplane (one of the searchers?) or a new crash.
I also could have been wrong about a lack of a trail in the brush. There is a linear feature (dark line) just south of the aircraft that would be consistent with a landing on a heading of about 010 degrees.
For instance, when Steve flew around the world in the balloon did we, or anyone EVER, EVER lose track of his location? No.
@dustin
Well, I’m hoping that he’s okay too, but I don’t feel optimistic. I bet he had an ELT in the plane. He also apparently had a watch with a builtin GPS ELT. The fact that neither has been activated is worrisome. It’s possible he landed on a dirt strip somewhere, or a dry lakebed, and something else happened unrelated to the airplane.
As for changing something to prevent this, I’m not sure what you could change (especially since we don’t even know yet what has happened to him). At some point, you have to decide whether to fly at all or not, and adding 3, 4 or more ELTs can’t prevent every possible bad outcome.
There are thousand of uneventful VFR / IFR flights every day. Obviously we have heard of this because he is fairly well known.
I know how it probably seems if you are not a pilot, but flying is already a fairly well regulated (and hence expensive) activity.