Rescuers continue Fossett search

The search for missing adventurer Steve Fossett is continuing in the US.

Members of the US National Guard have now joined the hunt but authorities predict it will take at least a week to cover the 600 square mile search area.

Mr Fossett was last seen taking off from a ranch south of Smith Valley in Nevada, on Monday night in a single-engined aircraft.

American pilots speculated Mr Fossett may have fallen victim to the treacherous and sometimes deadly winds that squeeze through the narrow canyons.

Adam Mayberry, former spokesman for the Reno-Tahoe International Airport, said the American businessman was flying in an area of desert notorious for winds so powerful and tricky they can swirl an airplane like a leaf and even shear off a wing.

Mr Mayberry said: "There's been times when I've been flying in the wind and my blood turns cold."

British tycoon Sir Richard Branson, who funded the American businessman's record-breaking attempts, backed the 63-year-old to return safe and well.

He said: "If the worse comes to worse Steve's lived his life to the full, and he hasn't wasted a minute of his life.

"He's the number one gliding pilot in the world, as well as the number one aviator in the world. If anybody could have glided this plane down, it would have been him.

"But obviously, it's extremely worrying that it's lasted three days."

Conditions for the search and rescue teams are "optimal" after high winds hampered their efforts on Tuesday.

Their job was also complicated because Mr Fossett did not file a flight plan, which he was not required to do, but which could have helped find him.

The aircraft, with the tail number N-240R, is blue and white with orange stripes and blue sunburst designs on top of the wings.

It is understood he would have had four to five hours of fuel in the plane and was not wearing a parachute.

It is also understood Mr Fossett has a special Breitling Emergency watch which he could use to give out a signal to show his location, but he has not done so.

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