Civilian pilots and authorities rescued a man and two children on Monday after taking him overnight on the wings of a fallen Alaska plane.
The Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser was previously reported on Sunday night after taking off from Soldotna Airport earlier in the day, ABC News It has been reportedcited the Alaska National Guard. Alaskan authorities have launched an effort to search for the missing plane, but authorities were unable to find the plane. The wreckage did not broadcast emergency transmitter signals.
The state guard told ABC News it discovered the ping on a mobile phone, leading the searchers to believe the aircraft was near the Kenai Mountains and Lake Tasmena.
Terry Gods, a civilian on his plane, found the crash site on Monday.
“I looked down and saw the ice above the lake…and I could see some kind of dark place,” Godes told ABC News. “In the beginning, we could say it was the wing of an airplane, so we announced it on the radio.
“We found out there were three people on the wing,” he continued. “It was really good to see.”
According to ABC News, the three were left on the plane at temperatures close to freezing for nearly 12 hours. (Related: Alaskan authorities find missing planes after disappearing with 10 animals)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dramjo4em9k
“They spent a very cold, long, dark, wet night on the wings of planes on soft ice,” Godes said. “That’s a miracle.”
“When I first saw the wings, it broke my heart because I know what happens when the plane breaks the ice,” he added.
According to ABC News, an Alaskan Army National Guard helicopter assigned to the 207th Aviation Troop Command responded to the scene where the plane found three on its wings. The crashed aircraft appeared to have broken down the frozen lake surface and was partially submerged in water. Officials said the plane collided with glacial fields and considerable waters, avoiding the main lake.
The three survived the crash and were taken to a local hospital after being rescued, the outlet reported. Information on the cause of the crash and the cause of the injury was unknown.
The Alaska National Guard did not immediately respond to daily caller requests for comment.
