I would like to be the best in everything, but that's not possible. 'Sports is often very humiliating, because there are so many better athletes in these events. 'Business is much easier for me,' he told the Chicago Tribune. He spoke of his desire to test human endurance as an extension of all that made him a success in business - a sense of competition and an ability to withstand intense pressure. He fit the physical ideal of his fortune-making first profession, Chicago commodities and options trader. He had a receding hairline, imperfect vision and a slightly paunchy build. Fossett met no one's idea of a sinewy thrill-seeker. Last year, he not only flew an airplane solo more than 25,700 miles - a record distance in a nonstop, non-refueled airplane - but he also copiloted a glider to what he said was nine miles into the earth's stratosphere, a record height in that craft. In 2002, he traveled 18,827 miles to become the first person to circumnavigate the globe alone in a balloon. He also set 23 official world records in sailing. In July, he was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame. Fossett achieved dozens of records for speed, altitude and distance in the past 10 years. Fossett lived in Chicago and Beaver Creek, Colo.Īs an aviator, sailor and hot-air balloon navigator, Mr. On Friday, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey Malak heard testimony from Peggy Fossett, a family friend and a search-and-rescue expert, according to the Associated Press, and decided that evidence was sufficient for the death declaration. He last was seen taking off from an airstrip owned by hotel magnate Barron Hilton near Yerington, Nev., on what was supposed to be a two-hour pleasure flight.Īfter exhaustive searches failed to find any traces of him or the plane in the rugged terrain, Peggy Viehland Fossett petitioned a court in November to declare her husband dead. Fossett, known for his globe-circling, nonstop flights by airplane and balloon, was reported missing Sept.

Nevada skies missing master