Adventurer Steve Fossett declared dead

Millionaire businessman and adventurer Steve Fossett has been declared legally dead by a court in Chicago.

Mr Fossett has been missing for five months since his single-engine plane disappeared over the Nevada desert.

His wife had filed a court petition to have him declared dead so the process of executing his will could begin.

The judge said the evidence Mr Fossett was dead was "more than sufficient". He described the 63-year-old's fortune as "vast", and an eight-figure sum.

There has been no trace of Mr Fossett since he took off from Yerington, Nevada, on 3 September 2007.