The Citabria Super Decathlon single engine aircraft Steve Fossett was flying had a working emergency locator transmitter.
The transmitter is supposed to send out a radio signal if the aircraft crashes.
However Civil Air Patrol officials said there are several things that could go wrong with a transmitter.
Fossett reportedly left his survival kit behind when he took off on Labor Day morning from a southern Lyon County private airfield.
The search area includes 60,000 square miles of rugged territory ranging from the basin and range in the east to the Sierra in the west.
The area being searched stretches from Yerington to Bishop and follows the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada.
The aircraft belongs to the Flying M Hunting Club owned by Barron Hilton.
The Civil Air Patrol is using multi-spectral imaging systems to pick out the aircraft from background clutter.
