London, October 4 (ANI): Friends of air-adventurer Steve Fossett have paid tribute to the aviator for his 'adventure spirit' after police officials revealed that they had discovered human remains in his wrecked plane.
The 63-year-old millionaire had mysteriously disappeared after taking off from his private airstrip in Nevada last September and was legally declared dead in February this year.
Search teams from the National Transportation Safety Board at the crash site in the mountains of eastern California announced they had found enough human remains for DNA testing along with personal effects in the debris.
"There is a sort of relief that there is some closure," Telegraph quoted friend Briton Andy Green as saying.
He said: "Steve was one of those guys who understood that record breaking is part of the human psyche and spirit.
"It's part of human beings to push the boundaries of human endeavour, to wonder what's over the next hill, it makes life more interesting for the rest of us.
"I hope Steve's adventurer's spirit will be carried on and a landspeed record will be carried through."
On being asked about speculation that the millionaire balloonist might have faked his own death to avoid paying devastatingly heavy debts, Mr. Green simply termed them as disrespectful.
He said: "All that's doing is confusing and muddying a remarkable guy.
"If you make a mistake it's easy to get hurt if it's just not your day."
Another friend, Sir Richard Branson, who backed some of Fossett's record attempts, said: "Now that the plane has been found we can finally bring closure to Steve's wonderful life.
"The frivolous stories can also be put to rest and family, friends and the rest of the world can now pay tribute to a truly great and extraordinary man."
Fossett, who became the first person to fly solo non-stop around the world in a plane, was known for setting 115 new world records.
Amongst his many accomplishments were 5 non-stop circumnavigations of the Earth, and the record for first solo balloon flight round the world in 2002 and a 2004 around the world sailing record of 58 days 9 hours.
His widow, Peggy, said in a statement: "I hope now to be able to being to closure a very painful chapter in my life." (ANI)
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