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,” Ward said.
