Tuesday, September 4, 2007

CNN's Nutty O'Brien: Fossett Conspiracy!

I'm covering the disappearance of Steve Fossett for the New York Times right now from Vegas. He's missing in remote western Nevada around 90 miles south of Reno.

Since I'm stuck following this case by phone calls and by watching the TV coverage, I'm sitting here amazed by the misinformation and awful speculation coming from CNN's Space & Technology Correspondent Miles O'Brien, who is phoning in his "expertise" from an undisclosed location.

First, he gets uppity about a question that reporters on the ground in Minden, Nev., didn't ask about a beacon the plane might have had that might be accessed via satellite. The reporters did ask whether that had yielded any info but the officials didn't know. "Shame on them," he barked at the reporters for not knowing the make and model of that transmitter.

Then, about an hour later, he's on the air with totally off-the-wall conspiracy theory that is based entirely on O'BRIEN'S LACK OF KNOWLEDGE OF NEVADA GEOGRAPHY. He refers to something in the press conference about "electronic evidence" and then says:

"It is possible that Fossett flew into some restricted air space in that area. Nellis Air Force base is nearby, that's the home of the Thunderbirds. Not far also from Area 51 which everyone knows a little something about. It is possible that there was some sort of electronic radar information which the military might have had associated with that restricted air space."

Hey O'Brien! Nellis Air Force Base is more than 350 miles from where Fossett was flying. Area 51 is more than 300 miles.

Sheesh. Shame on YOU.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

I believe they are looking over a 600 mile area for the guy....that's what i heard on the same television you're watching.....isn't 300 miles within the 600 mile area?....you do the math.

THE STRIP PODCAST said...

they say that number, but 600 square miles would lead all the way into vegas and they're not searching for him down here.

Anonymous said...

They will never find him cause he flew over the mountain towards groom lake and was wTFpwnd by the good ol US military. Maybe people wont fly so close to restricted air space next time...

Anonymous said...

Actually area 51 is only 200 miles from where Fossett took off and also 200 miles from Eureka County where Fossett was planning testing for his land speed records. It might be 300 miles by road but Fossett hardly drove to Area 51 and distances should be measured as the crow flies!

Anonymous said...

from what i can tell, the GPS coordinates for Area 51 are more than 300 miles from Yerington, NV. And, anyhow, 600 square miles is not the same as straight distance be 30 miles x 20 miles or 60 miles by 10 miles. However you figure it, it's not near Area 51 or Nellis AF.

Anonymous said...

The coordinates are as follows:
fossett take off (Flying M Ranch)38.603N 119.003W
eureka 39.512N 115.962W
area51 37.239N 115.816W
This gives under 236 miles between FlyingM and Area51, and 155 miles between Eureka and Area51.
The other major military instillation in the area is the Tonopah Test Range 37.795N, 116.778W which is only 161 miles from Flying M Ranch and 130 miles from Eureka.

Not saying that the military had anything to do with it but these facilities are well within range

Anonymous said...

These military conspiracy opinions are just plain nutty. The truth will come out soon enough. This is clearly another mysterious disappearance caused by the Bermuda Triangle.

Anonymous said...

i agree with the last poster.. i knew i wasnt alone on the bermuda triangle thought.........

Anonymous said...

One can only speculate. We do know he was a risk taker. It would not surprise me if his pattern of curiousity/risk taking coupled with say an installations jamming equipment could have messed with his instruments or in a post 911 world...they shot it down.

Anonymous said...

He failed to file a flight plan. His emergency beacon failed or was turned off. I have not heard this thought mentioned but could he have planned his departure and left the country to start a new life. Remember the A-10 pilot, DB Cooper even the runaway bride from GA (later found out to be a kidnap hoax)to name a few. People run from their past and sometimes from their problems.

Anonymous said...

he's dead

Anonymous said...

I've heard that he has a secret location in the caribbean islands were he goes to meet up with his mistress and thia was all a ruse to get out of the country and leave his wife. He never took off in that plane...thats why they can't find it. He never flew it! He had over 50 million wired to undisclosed off shore accounts 5 days prior to his "disapearance". I guess a divorce was going to be too messy, so he just took off...thats why you haven't heard much from his wife...she knows the truth.

Anonymous said...

in the september 29 print edition of the Reno Gazzette journal, the national guard spokesperson has indicated that:the radar images likely were once classified...TAKEN FROM AN AREA IN NEVADA USED BY THE MILITARY!!!!! NEVADA NATIONAL GUARD SPOKEWOMAN APRIL CONWAY SAID!.

could o'brien be right after all...he mentioned military radar for certain restricted areas...all within flying range of the plane.