A week has past and aviator Steve Fossett is still missing. According to a ABC News article, searchers have found six previous wrecks, but there's still no sign of Fossett.

Fossett took off in a single-engine plane from Reno, Nevada to scout locations for a crack at another aviation record, the world's land speed. Twelve planes are searching Nevada's Sierra Mountains.

The flight was so routine that Fossett didn't even file a flight plan, and that is why searchers are having such a difficult time, because they have no idea where to look. They have been scouring a massive area, around 17,000 square miles.

It's like "looking for a very small needle in a very large haystack," said Civil Air Patrol Maj. Cynthia Ryan. "We are just scratching the surface."

About two dozen aircrafts are canvassing Nevada's rugged mountains and steep canyons for any sign of clues. They include airplanes, helicopters and a C-130 cargo plane.

The C-130 soars more than 10 times as high as the smaller search planes. The height allows the crew, using high tech cameras, to scan large swaths of land.

"Our cameras are so good we can look at a larger area much faster - and that's the synergy of having the small planes below us and us up above," said Capt. Col. Jon Pruehl, who has also searched for missing climbers on Mount Hood and over the floodwaters of Katrina.

It is hard for him to grasp how a veteran flier such as Fossett could have disappeared.

"The plane looked like it was fairly new, well maintained, [with an] experienced pilot," Pruehl said. "It's really baffling."