iPad helps locate father, daughter after plane crash

BEAR CREEK TOWNSHIP, Pa. (WBRE/WYOU) — State police found a father and daughter alive Monday morning after an overnight plane crash in Pennsylvania, and it was thanks to an iPad.

A man and his teenage daughter were on their way from a local airport to the Poconos when their plane crashed in the middle of state game lands in Bear Creek Township in Luzerne County.

The United States Air Force was able to find their location by tracking an iPad that pinged off a local tower.

Pennsylvania State Police found the two huddled together, suffering from hypothermia.

Sgt. John Richards said in his 28 years with the Pennsylvania State Police, this is the first time he’s gone to a plane crash and found survivors.

“With the help of the United States Air Force, they were able to track a better location using several pings … using the cellphone of the pilot and the daughter’s iPad. And the iPad actually led us right to the crash site,” Richards said. “The daughter saves both of them by using her iPad. And the dad was cuddling the daughter that gave her warmth because they were both suffering from hypothermia at the time.”

Both the father and daughter were taken to a local hospital. Police and firefighters are calling their survival “a miracle.”

The National Transportation Safety Board was expected to head to the scene Monday to investigate the plane crash.