Pilot rescued with 2 girls from icy Alaska lake was not authorized to have passengers, official says

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A pilot rescued with two young family members after they survived a night on the wing of an airplane partially submerged in an Alaska lake is a student pilot who was not authorized to fly with passengers, according to a U.S. official and federal aviation records.

The Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday started disciplinary action against the pilot, John Morris Jr., National Transportation Safety Board investigator Mark Ward told The Associated Press.

Morris has thus far not cooperated with federal investigators about what happened on the flight, Ward said. He has neither returned their calls nor reported the accident within the required 24-hour period.

“The FAA told me that he is a student pilot, he had no application in for a pilot’s license, and it appears he has a history of violating” the no passenger rule, Ward said. “At this point, we don’t know whether he landed purposely or for an emergency procedure, and he’s not talking to us.”

Morris did not immediately respond to a message from The Associated Press seeking comment.

The plane was reported missing Sunday near Tustumena Lake on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula, about 80 miles (129 kilometers) southwest of Anchorage. One of about a dozen volunteer pilots who headed out in search of the plane Monday morning spotted it with the three survivors on the wing.

The Alaska Army National Guard launched a helicopter from Anchorage to rescue and deliver them to a nearby hospital for what officials said were non-life-threatening injuries.

Based on interviews with the helicopter’s pilot and rescue crew chief, Ward said it appeared that the plane had landed near a glacier on the partially frozen lake, broke through the ice as it rolled to a stop and then began to sink. It wasn't known if the pilot landed intentionally on the lake thinking the ice was more solid than it was, or whether a mechanical issue forced the plane down.

“If it’s mechanical, then I need to get that aircraft, find out why it happened,” Ward said.

The plane’s canvas- or fabric-covered wings acted as a flotation device and kept it from fully sinking, Ward said.

“That’s what saved them,” he said.

Morris was able to get the girls out of the plane as it was slowly sinking, officials said, and the girls’ clothes were dry when they were rescued. But Morris got wet and was suffering from hypothermia by the time rescuers arrived.

The pilot’s cellphone also quit working after it got wet, Ward said.

The Federal Aviation Administration conducted a conference call Tuesday with Ward and Morris’ wife. She said he would call them, but that call never came, Ward said.

Federal aviation records show that Morris received a student pilot license in 2018.

Student pilots flying passengers is among the more common violations of FAA rules, according to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. The federal agency can suspend or revoke a student pilot’s license, issue fines and seek the costs associated with the investigation.

Ward said it’s probable that if a student pilot was unlawfully flying passengers and suffered an accident, any insurance claim would be denied, leaving the pilot responsible for damage and recovering the aircraft from the lake.