The renown US aviator and adventurer Steve Fossett, famous for holding numerous records, has been reported missing after taking off in a light plane from an airfield in western Nevada, media informed on Tuesday.

The Record-Courier said Fossett was last seen taking off in a single-engine Citabria Super Decathlon south of Smith Valley on Monday morning and headed south. Authorities fear he may have crashed in the desert and launched a massive search operation for the 63-year-old man.

Maj. Cynthia S. Ryan, the Civil Air Patrol Nevada Wing Mission spokeswoman said three crews are looking for Fossett’s plane over hundreds of square miles in the rough country, additional teams being dispatched to extend the search operation in California.

“It's kind of like looking for a needle in a haystack right now, but we've got an awful lot of resources out there. We're going to keep looking until we find him,” Gary Derks, a rescue official from Nevada told Fox News Channel.

Derks said authorities have been alerted by some of Fossett’s friends, who said the adventurer left on a routine test-flight and has not filed a flight plan.

“I think he was just enjoying the aircraft. We don't know what happened. There was no report of any kind of problems whatsoever,” the official added.

Last year, Fossett broke the world record for flying without landing, managing to steer his Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer for more than 76 hours without making a single stop over.

He is the first man to fly a plane alone around the world in 2005, between February 28 and March 3. He flew continuously for 67 hours without refueling or making an intermediate landing.

Five years ago, the Californian became the first person to singly fly a balloon around the globe, again without making any stops. He took off from Australia on June 19 and returned to the same country after thirteen days of flying incessantly.

Also in 2002, Fossett received the Gold Medal of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, the highest award in aviation.

As a sailor, Fossett broke dozens of world records for speed sailing, some of his achievements still dominating charts.