Conspiracy Corner

I seriously doubt Steve Fossett faked his own death, but this article asks the question.

The theory goes Fossett had a double or triple life, and he wanted to get away from it all:

On Sunday, Lt-Col Cynthia Ryan of the US Civil Air Patrol, official spokeswoman for the search-and-rescue operation, was quoted as saying that she believes Fossett may not have actually crashed. Her astonishing theory is that this all-American hero had somehow faked his own death.

Ryan's claim is supported by Robert Davis, a life insurance loss adjuster who spent several months compiling a report into the Fossett affair. Both experts believe that several elements of the incident simply do not add up – and their theory is now being supported by an array of aviation experts, private detectives and good, old-fashioned conspiracy theorists.

The faked-death story goes as follows. In the months leading up to his death, Fossett may have been leading what breathless news reports describe as "a secret double life".

There were suggestions that he had opened secret bank accounts, and was cheating on his wife of 38 years with not one, but two mistresses. His finances had also taken a hit after a string of unlucky investments, and the prospect of a messy divorce had left him facing public humiliation and financial ruin.

Or else he wanted to secure his wife's financial future by vanishing off the face of the earth:

In addition, Fossett – who had accumulated great wealth but may have hit difficulties – had a $52m motive for going missing: a life insurance policy that would secure his wife's financial future.