The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its final report on the Sept. 3, 2007 aviation accident that claimed the life of Steve Fossett, saying that the famed aviator was downed by mountain downdrafts during a local pleasure flight. The Safety Board ruled that his aircraft, a Bellanca 8KCAB-180 (N240R) struck mountainous terrain near Mammoth Lakes, CA following an inadvertent encounter with downdrafts that exceeded the climb capability of the aircraft. Contributing to the accident were the downdrafts, high-density altitude, and mountainous terrain. “Moderate turbulence and downdrafts of at least 400 feet per minute probably occurred at the time and in the area of the accident. The magnitude of the downdrafts likely exceeded the climb capability of the airplane, which, at a density altitude of 13,000 feet, was about 300 feet per minute,” Safety Board investigators believe.