Nevada to bill Fossett's widow for search

Note to self: If I crash my plane in Nevada, just leave me out there.

CARSON CITY, Nev. -- Gov. Jim Gibbons plans to bill the widow of adventurer Steve Fossett for the unsuccessful recovery search.

Last year, the state spent $687,000 over a month looking for the multimillionaire adventurer after his plane disappeared in northern Nevada. During a month-long search, ground crews, the Nevada National Guard and the Civil Air Patrol scoured a 20,000 square-mile area, but turned up no sign of Fossett or his plane.

http://www.fox5vegas.com/news/16098195/detail.html?eref=googletoolbar

 

Multimillionaires can afford it.

 

You should only have to pay if they find the body.

 

Why should the family have to pay? They wouldn't have spent that much time and money searching for some common guy.

 

Wow. That's pretty weak.

 

If you do something stupid, get lost and the government has to go out looking for you, why shouldn't you (or your family if you die) be charged for your stupidity wasting tax money?

Most states charge for rescue searches, esp. when stupidity is involved. Montana does, and apparently so does Nevada.

 

Fossett didn't do anything stupid, though. All he did was take off. He didn't fly in a storm or bad conditions.

And if some hiker stumbles across the crash site five years from now, can Mrs. Fossett get a refund?

 

Flying in a small plane can be construed by many, including me, as stupid.

 

So could driving in a small car. People still do it.
Lots of folks fly in small private planes. In a lot of ways, they're safer than jetliners because if something goes wrong they crash easier. They fly slower and lower, so you have a better chance of surviving a crash. Now, if you happen to crash in the middle of the Nevada desert, that's a different story.

Fossett wasn't just some schmuck taking flying lessons in a homebuilt ultralight. Obviously, something went wrong with his plane (or him physically). He was one of the world's best pilots, and I doubt he'd have taken off in a plane he thought might have mechanical issues.

 

What? That statement has more reach than Plasticman.

I'm sure the $700,000 or so Nevada is requesting will really make a difference in their nine-figure budget shortfall. This is nothing but political bullshit.