LONDON, UK (Team Geared Up) - A TGU reader Robert Poli has commented on the Steve Fossett search post to say he’s found something in Google Earth.

Look at coordinates:
N38* 50′ 04″
W118*52′45.37″
small, white, right angle image on mountainside.

A quick check of the coordinates ourselves and we’ve uploaded the screenshot above. Yes it does look like something, but it appears me that it lies outside of the updated images given by Amazon Mechanical Turk. This in my mind means it’s on an old image, and probably taken before last week.

Robert, to play safe, have you relayed these coordinates to the authorities? Can our readers shed any more light on this object?

-Robin-

LONDON, UK (Team Geared Up) - Well you enjoyed our top 5 mountain bike crashes, so here’s the next in the series! Top 5 Snowboarding Crashes by TGU.

At 5… Hitting your face off a rail!

At 4… Jumping steps and clipping a rail. Head landing!

At 3… You don’t even need snow to snowboard, all you need is beer!

At 2… Best to stay on the piste mate!

And in 1st Place… Head Plant!

-Robin-

(Image Credit: Author Gets Air, and actually landed this one!)

LONDON, UK (Team Geared Up) - With a 60,000-square-mile search area (5hr radius from Flying Ranch M) to look for the missing world record breaker Steve Fossett they’ve decided it’s time to call in the technology. TGU Blogger Darran spotted today on TechCrunch.com that Richard Branson has asked Google for help in providing image analysis to locate him.

“I’m talking with friends at Google about seeing whether we can look at satellite images over the last four days to see whether they can see which direction he might have been flying and whether they can see any disturbances anywhere that they can pin from space,” –Branson

It would be hoped that by algorithmically comparing images taken before & after the incident a plane or debris could be determined on the ground. Even more successful would be an image taken during the flight time 5hr window which would capture the intact plane flying and his flight path could be determined.

Today a black hawk helicopter joined the SAR effort along with an interesting piece of tech. A ‘Gippsland Air Van’, plane complete with Archer multi-spectral imaging system that should distinguish Fossett’s plane from the background, flew in to join the effort. The system can detect a plane with just 10 percent of shape intact.

The following video has been shot flying over Flying Ranch M, Nevada. This gives an idea of terrain:

Steve Fossett tribute videos have started on YouTube already:

As a follow up to yesterday, it is now thought if he crashed into a lake the Emergency Locator Beacon could have been lost - this doesn’t yet explain his watch not signalling.

-Robin-

LONDON, UK (Team Geared Up) - Our helicopter crashes page is one of our most visited! So - without further hesitation, here is your ‘Top 5 Mountain Bike Crashes’.

IN 5TH PLACE

IN 4TH PLACE (I heard a snap).

IN 3RD PLACE

IN 2ND PLACE

AND THIS HAS GOT TO BE 1ST PLACE @173km/h!

-Robin-

LONDON, UK (Team Geared Up) - The U.S. Coast Guard announced during a ceremony today in Grand Haven, Mich., for its 217th birthday that 1,109,310 lives have been saved since its establishment in 1790. Thanks to Irish Coast Guard member for news-tip.

Top ten rescue videos is available here

-Robin-