A pilot, his two young daughters made through an chilling 12-hour ordeal during the icy waters of Tustumena Lake, after the pilot crash the plan. The three were plucked to safety on 23 March by the Alaska Army National Guard on the end of a dramatic search sparked off by a worried family member and some local pilots.
The plane, a Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser, had vanished while on a sightseeing tour from Soldotna to Skilak Lake on March 23. Without a locator beacon, it was a prayer of volunteers. Terry Godes, a local pilot saw the wreckage near the toe of glacier the next morning.
It was a sad thing to see the wreckage as I first approached, but once I got closer and saw three people waving on the wing, it changed my whole day, Godes told the Associated Press. 
The rescue was carried out quickly after Godes mentioned their location. Another pilot Dale Eicher passed the coordinates to state troopers, allowing the National Guard to send a helicopter. The rescue efforts were made very difficult by such gusty winds that the rescuers had to hover while lifting survivors into the air.
The pilot, said to be hypothermic, and his daughters were taken to the nearby hospital for non-life threatening injuries.
They endured the icy cold on a submergible wing but their survival is an absolute miracle, said Lt. Col. Brendon Holbrook of the 207th Aviation Regiment.
The reason for the crash remains still under investigation with locals warned about of ferocious winds and treacherous terrain in the area.
