A missing plane carrying three people was found Monday morning near the eastern side of Tustumena Lake, ending a tense overnight search effort across the Kenai Peninsula.
According to the Alaska State Troopers, a good Samaritan aircraft spotted the wreckage earlier in the day. At approximately 10:30 a.m., the Alaska Army National Guard successfully rescued the adult male pilot and his two juvenile passengers. All three were transported to a local hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.
The aircraft, a Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser, was reported missing around 10:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 23, after flying in the Kenai Peninsula region. Authorities believed the plane had gone down somewhere near Tustumena Lake or in the Kenai Mountains, east of Homer.
Search efforts began immediately, involving the U.S. Coast Guard, the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center, and the Alaska Army National Guard. An Air Guard C-130 and an HH-60 helicopter were placed on standby overnight, while the family of the passengers appealed for help through social media, asking local pilots to join the search at daylight.
In a Facebook post shared widely Sunday evening, the family said the pilot’s cell phone had last pinged near Tustumena Lake. The pilot, their son, was flying with their two granddaughters, according to the post, and friends and volunteers organized early-morning search efforts in hopes of spotting the aircraft.
The Alaska State Troopers expressed gratitude to everyone involved in the rescue. “We’d like to thank the Alaska Army National Guard, U.S. Coast Guard, the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center, and the good Samaritan aircraft that assisted with this operation,” the agency said in a statement.
The identities of those onboard have not yet been released. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.