Fossett's circus.

Did Adventurer Fake His Death?
By Sky News SkyNews - 1 hour 38 minutes agoAdventurer Steve Fossett may have faked his own death and could still be alive, according to investigators.

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Fossett, a pal of Virgin boss Richard Branson, went missing in September 2007 during a flight over the Nevada desert.

And despite a huge search and rescue operation, the biggest in American history, no trace of either him or his plane was found.

Lieutenant Colonel Cynthia Ryan of the US Civil Air Patrol was part of the mission to find Fossett and his plane.

She said: "I've been doing this search and rescue for 14 years. Fossett should have been found.

"It's not like we didn't have our eyes open. We found six other planes while we were looking for him. We're pretty good at what we do."

As well as no wreckage ever being found, investigators have also raised questions over a number of other anomalies surrounding the crash.

His flight was witnessed by only one other person, a fellow pilot who Fossett asked to prepare his plane for take-off, something he normally only carried out himself.

Fossett said he was scouting for possible locations for a land speed record attempt, but he took no emergency gear with him, including his GPS-equipped watch.

Insurance assessor Robert Davis conducted an eight-month investigation for insurers Lloyd's of London, who are said to face a £25m payout on Fossett's death.

He said: "I discovered that there is absolutely no proof that Steve Fossett is actually dead.

"I'm not a conspiracy theorist, I'm a man who deals in facts, and I don't really care if he is alive or dead, it makes no difference to me.

"What I am interested in is the truth - and a proper criminal investigation of this man's disappearance was never undertaken by law enforcement or officials in the state of Nevada.