Interesting idea?http://www.mturk.com/mturk/preview?groupId...G21T60&kw=Flash

how did they get their hands on satellite data that is just days old? Steve must have had a lot of friends, I suppose... Nice idea, but I think a pre-screening using some computerized algorithm would be more successful. So humans only would have to look at tiles that contain something "non-standard".Why didn't the guy post a flight plan in the first place. If you do something risky, why not let someone know where you're going? Hikers should tell someone before going out alone, and pilots (especially of single engine aircraft) should also keep someone posted.One more thing I keep wondering about is why a multi-millionaire would choose a Decathlon as his aircraft of choice for scouting the desert.Can't this guy afford something bigger and more reliable? ;-) Well, I certainly hope they will find him and his plane, but chances of finding him alive might be slim.

So low and slow was indicated to spot problems on the surface. For the rest it's excess confidence. #1 killer.

Even filing a flight plan probably would not help. In this part of the desert getting flight following/communication is pretty much impossible at low altitudes. One of the times I flew in this area-I did have a vfr flight plan filed but was unable to open it due to lack of communication below 10,000 ft. I just flew in that area 3 weeks ago-even with an ifr plan filed I was unable to open it for the first 70nm of the trip at 13,000 due to inability to communicate.Even if filing a vfr flight plan if I recall -Cap statistics 3-7 days (or never) is the average for locating a downed aircraft on a vfr fight plan. Searching 8-10 miles either direction of a flight path that is even filed takes considerable time.http://mywebpages.comcast.net/geofa/pages/rxp-pilot.jpgForum Moderatorhttp://geofageofa.spaces.live.com/