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SAN FRANCISCO - Citing the risks of volunteer pilots running into rescue teams searching for missing US adventurer Steve Fossett, aviation officials have issued a ban on civilian flights near the search.
Maj. Ed Locke of the Nevada Air National Guard said the Federal Aviation Administration had temporarily barred civilian aircraft from flying less than 610 metres above ground level in an 80km area around the Flying M Ranch, southeast of Reno.
"We're basically trying to keep the looky-loos and those trying to be helpful out of the search area," Locke said.
The millionaire adventurer was reported missing after the small, single-engine aircraft he was piloting took off 12 days ago from the ranch, 113km from Reno. The search remains centred in the vicinity of the ranch, Locke said.
Authorities have grown concerned that freelance searchers may be putting rescue crews at risk by interfering with the Civil Air Patrol's efforts to find Fossett's plane.
The search has also drawn in Web surfers, who have been asked to help by scanning thousands of recent satellite images of the area on Google Earth. The online search is being organised by Amazon.com Inc's Mechanical Turk project.
The official search is being conducted by air and on the ground. Nine aircraft and helicopters are involved. Dozens of searchers have fanned out on foot in canyons and high vegetation areas, according to a statement issued Saturday.
Locke said some volunteers were seeking a US$10,000 ($14,231) reward offered by YouChoose.net - a website that encourages its users to turn "passions into actions" - for being the first to provide information leading to Fossett's rescue.
The reward is offered only to people using Google Earth images online and not for aerial searchers.
"This freelance searching is not only dangerous, but will potentially result in the delay or cancellation of all air search missions for Mr Fossett," Locke said.
Fossett was scouting locations for a planned attempt to set a land-speed record. So far searchers have found no sign of him or his plane, or any indication of what might have happened.
Fossett, who has a knack for getting out of tough situations, became the first person to fly a balloon solo around the world in 2002 and made a record-setting solo nonstop aeroplane flight around the world in 2005.
He also climbed more than 400 mountain peaks, swam the English Channel, raced in the Le Mans auto race and competed in Alaska's Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
- REUTERS
