DNA tests on bones found near the wreckage of Steve Fossett’s aircraft in the mountains of California have confirmed the US millionaire is dead.

The 63-year-old adventurer disappeared on a solo flight from a ranch in Nevada in September last year.

He was the first person to circle the globe in a balloon in 2002 and held scores more world records.

The bones were discovered last week nearly a kilometre away from a crash site.

Early last month, local search teams found the wreckage of the single-engined plane after a hiker handed in identification papers belonging to Fosset.

Copyright © 2012 euronews