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Fossett's Disappearance
- Steve Fossett, a millionaire adventurer, disappeared on a casual plane ride in 2007.
- An extensive search ensued, uncovering other plane crashes but no trace of Fossett for over a year.
Secret Project
- After Fossett's death, it was revealed he'd been planning a secret solo dive to the Mariana Trench.
- He funded engineer Graham Hawkes to build the Deep Flight Challenger submersible for this purpose.
Virgin Oceanic's Failed Attempt
- Richard Branson's Virgin Oceanic acquired Deep Flight Challenger, planning dives to the deepest points of all five oceans.
- Testing revealed carbon fiber's weakness under pressure, leading to project cancellation.