When wealthy adventurers take huge risks, who should pay for rescue attempts?

A file photo of Fossett being retrieved by a US Coast Guard helicopter from waters 10-15 miles north of the island of Oahu in the Hawaiian Islands, on Dec 25, 1998, after abandoning his quest along with Per Lindstrand, of Sweden, and British mogul Richard Branson, who were attempting to make the first nonstop round-the-world flight in a balloon. The massive hunt for the Titan submersible that imploded deep in the North Atlantic has refocused attention on whether wealthy risktakers should pay for emergency search and rescue efforts. — Honolulu Star-Advertiser via AP

When millionaire Steve Fossett’s plane went missing over the Nevada range in 2007, the swashbuckling adventurer had already been the subject of two prior emergency rescue operations thousands of miles apart.

And that prompted a prickly question: After a sweeping search for the wealthy risktaker ended, who should foot the bill?