Investigators finally found out what happened with Steve Fossett’s single-engine plane on the day when the billionaire adventurer disappeared: the plane crashed into a mountain. The search teams deployed at the crash site have also found human remains near the wreckage of Fossett’s plane.

The finding of human remains near the crash site – a mountainside in the Sierra Nevada of east-central California – was confirmed by the National Transportation Safety Board. The remains were, more precisely, a small bone fragment which is on its way to the state’s Justice Department for forensic analysis.

“I believe the coroner will be able to do some work,” said Mark Rosenker, chairman of the NTSB.

The crews sent to search the area discovered what was left of the plane piloted by Mr. Fossett on Sept. 3, 2007, on Wednesday. The billionaire who became famous mostly for its adventures and record-breaking endeavors was declared legally dead in February by a judge in Chicago at the request of his surviving wife.

The remains of the single-engine Bellanca Citabria Super Decathlon were found in a debris field some 150 x 400 feet. Initial reports of the investigators show that the plane hit a mountain at an altitude of about 10,100 feet. The plane’s engine was found 300 feet from the rest of the aircraft.

The area where the remains of the plane were found is located about nine miles northwest of Mammoth Lakes. The search crews along with 30 investigators and other recovery personnel had to walk for about 45 minutes to get there.