Strong wind and turbulence likely caused the millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett to lose control of his plane and plummet to his death, US federal safety investigators said.

Mr Fossett, who set more than 100 records during a thrill-seeking career, disappeared in September 2007, after taking off on a solo flight from a private airstrip at a Nevada ranch.

His single-engine, two-seater plane crashed near Mammoth Lakes, California "following an inadvertent encounter with downdrafts that exceeded the climb capability of the airplane," the National Transportation Safety Board said.

In addition to the downdrafts, which are air pockets that can pull a plane suddenly downward, causing turbulence, the NTSB said that high density altitude and mountainous terrain contributed to the accident.

Despite a massive, high-profile search of rugged wilderness, no trace of Mr Fossett's plane was found for more than a year until a hiker stumbled on identity cards belonging to Mr Fossett in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on October 7, 2008.

Mr Fossett's remains were later recovered by searchers, along with credit cards, an Illinois driver's license, cash, clothing and a pair of tennis shoes.

On the day of the accident, neither emergency radio transmissions or emergency locator transmitter signals were received from Mr Fossett, the NTSB said.

A multi-millionaire who made his fortune dealing stocks in Chicago, Mr Fossett, 63, set his array of world records in sailboats, gliders and hot-air balloons.

He famously made the first solo nonstop, non-refuelled circumnavigation of the world in 67 hours in the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer. In 2002, he was the first person to fly solo around the world in a balloon.