Man, two children rescued from remote Alaska plane crash

Searchers found the pilot of a small, single-engine aircraft and two children related to him alive on Monday morning. Their Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser was reported missing about 12 hours before they were seen by a volunteer. The Alaska Army National Guard rescued the trio from the wreckage and took them to a local hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries, local news reported.

The trio was found sitting on the wing of their plane atop the ice on a small glacial lake near Tustumena Lake, in Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula. The rest of the plane was submerged.

Why did the plane crash? It’s not yet clear what caused the crash, during what was intended as a sightseeing flight, according to local media. The Tustumena Lake area is known for sudden dangerous winds.