Icy crash ordeal: Family survives 12 hours on frozen lake
Three people survived a plane crash and waited for 12 hours on the wing of the wrecked plane on an icy lake in Alaska.
The pilot and two children survived the dramatic crash. The plane had crashed onto the frozen surface of a lake in Alaska. The pilot, who was traveling with his two daughters, managed to escape from the partially submerged aircraft and found refuge on the wing of the Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser. The three castaways spent twelve hours there before they were discovered by a civilian pilot.
The plane went off the radar on Sunday evening after taking off from the airport in Soldotna. According to ABC News, a search operation was immediately launched. Initially, the wreck could not be located because it did not send out an emergency signal. As reported by "Bild," only the signal from a cell phone led rescuers to the trail, suggesting that the plane was near Lake Tustumena and the Kenai Mountains.
The pilot's father posted on social media, appealing for help in finding his family. In response to his call on Facebook, twelve pilots set out on a search on Monday morning. One of them was Terry Godes, who headed towards Lake Tustumena.
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 top of the wing — Terry Godes recounted to AP News.
Happy ending
Godes relayed the location of the wreck to other pilots participating in the search operation, and they informed the authorities. Rescuers from the Alaska Army National Guard arrived on the scene.
They were able to rescue both the pilot and his two daughters. All were transported to a local hospital. There is currently no information about the injuries sustained or the potential causes of the accident.
