“The only reason those two are alive is because of God’s presence. That’s the only way I can explain it,” state police sergeant John Richards said Monday morning.
Richard’s is still trying to comprehend how a father and daughter survived a plane- and then five hours in the woods in devastatingly cold conditions.
“I never expected to find two people alive,” Richards said.
But he did. The pilot and father, 58 years old and his daughter, the passenger, just 13. Pennsylvania State Police were advised of a possible plane crash in Bear Creek Township around 8:30 P.M. Sunday night.
According to Richards, the plane had the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport, but had gone missing on the radar shortly after takeoff.
The United States Air Force Rescue Coordination Center provided PSP with a general search area and, after about 5 hours, the plane was located half a mile east of Suscon Road. Richards said the U.S. Air Force pinged a cell phone and iPad in the plane to locate the victims.
Both the pilot and the passenger, a father and daughter, were alive and suffering from injuries in a pre-hypothermic state. They were both transported to the Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Staff.
The cause of the crash remains unknown and is being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Executive Director at AVP, Carl Beardsley, said the plane was rather small and normally used for training. “Usually two or three seats,”
It was heroic effort by first responders. “Everyone just worked together for one common goal and it worked out,”
