Alaska plane crash: Pilot and two kids somehow survive after smashing into frozen lake
The pilot and two children somehow managed to survive on the wing of a plane - even after spending a 'long, cold, dark, wet night' out while exposed to the elements
A pilot and two children miraculously managed to survive on the wing of a plane after it crashed into a frozen lake in Alaska. The trio survived on the partially submerged plane when they were spotted by a passer-by who headed toward Tustumena Lake, southwest of Anchorage, on Monday.
Terry Godes saw the wreckage near a glacier after he read a Facebook post the day before calling for people to help search for the missing plane. "It kind of broke my heart to see that, but as I got closer down and lower, I could see that there's three people on the top of the wing," he told The Associated Press.
After he said a little prayer, Mr Godes went closer and saw what he believed was a miracle. "They were alive and responsive and moving around," he added. The trio waved at him as he approached.
The Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser piloted by a man and the two young family members flew out on Sunday during a recreational sightseeing tour from Soldotna to Skilak Lake. All three were rescued from the eastern edge of the lake after Mr Godes alerted other pilots who in turn told the Alaska National Guard.
Pilot Dale Eicher heard the radio call and went on to alert troops as he believed he had good service on his mobile phone. He then provided the plane's coordinates to officials.
Mr Eicher told the agency: "I wasn’t sure if we would find them, especially because there was a cloud layer over quite a bit of the mountains so they could have very easily been in those clouds that we couldn’t get to." The three survivors were taken to a hospital with injuries, although they were not considered to be life-threatening, Alaska State Troopers said.
It is not clear at this stage how the plane crashed. An investigation into the crash has been launched, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
Mr Godes said of the trio: "They spent a long, cold, dark, wet night out on top of a wing of an airplane that they weren’t planning on." He added the area where the plane went down was typically windy and that strong gales could whip up water into waves.
He continued: "Then just the way it’s placed right there at the heel of that, or at the toe of that glacier where you’ve got mountains on both sides, you know, just a few miles to the west, you’ve got Cook Inlet running back and forth with huge temperature and tidal swings every day. It’s just a recipe for chaos and for turbulence."
It comes after two French military planes crashed in mid-air today as the pilots were forced to bail out. Shocking footage of the crash, which occurred over the Saint-Dizier airbase, was posted on X.