Two Survivors Discovered After Eveleth Plane Crash

Two survivors were found after a crash near the Eveleth-Virginia Municipal Airport on Sunday, St. Louis County Undersheriff Dave Phillips said.

"Considering the condition of the plane, it's nothing short of a miracle," Phillips said. The survivors, a man and a woman, were found 400 feet north of the crash site. The two, who were not identified, suffered only minor injuries. Phillips said no other passengers were on the plane.

The call of a possible plane crash came in around 3 p.m. while agencies were still on the site of a house fire in Virginia. Many agencies responded to the search. A sheriff's deputy went up in a plane to find and confirm the site of the crash.

Around 4 p.m., Phillips said, officials found the plane wreckage about 2 miles east of the airport and began putting out a small fire at the scene near the convergence of Bodas and Clyde roads in Fayal Township. Phillips said that before the discovery of the survivors, the extensive damage to the plane made it difficult to determine the number of passengers or their identities.

According to Phillips, the survivors were able to bring the plane down mostly under control, but it had caught fire once they landed. The two got out of the plane and attempted to walk to the Eveleth airport, but had to turn around due to the rough terrain. During their walk back, the search-and-rescue team discovered them.

The plane took off from the Tower Municipal Airport airport in between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. according to airport manager John Burgess. The plane is a PA-32 Piper Saratoga, a 6-passenger single-engine aircraft. It is not registered with the Tower airport, but Burgess said it's common to see planes from other areas fly in and stay for the weekend.

"This one had sat here since July 2," Burgess said. "I saw it leave and heard from the flight service station that it was headed for somewhere in Wisconsin."

The plane had not filed a flight plan before takeoff.

The story was updated at 7:17 p.m. with additional information from Dave Phillips about the survivors. It was originally published at 6:17 p.m.

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