Fossett declared legally dead

Feb 16, 2008, 8:44 GMT

Washington - Adventurer Steve Fossett, whose plane disappeared over the Nevada desert in September, was declared legally dead by a Chicago court on Friday.

Fossett's wife Peggy sought the ruling so that his assets may be distributed according to the wishes of his will. The remains of Fossett have not been found despite more than a month-long search of the area where his plane went down.

Steve Fossett, 63, is deemed worth tens of millions of dollars from his days as a commodities trader, but he was better known for his feats as an aviator and sailor. He broke 93 aviation and 23 sailing records, 60 of which still stand.

'He was a survivor,' Peggy Fossett testified in the Cook County court, according to the Chicago Tribune. 'Everybody thought he'd come walking down the road one day and have another story to tell.'

Fossett became the first person to fly solo in a balloon around the world in 2002. Three years later he made the first solo, nonstop, unrefuelled fixed-wing aircraft flight around the globe. In 2006 he crossed the Atlantic Ocean twice in a repeated attempt, thereby setting a record for the longest flight in aviation history at 42,469 kilometres.