Cessna Stuck in Ice during touch & Go Pilots Walk 3 Miles Through Frigid Water to Safety

Cessna 172 Stuck in Ice, Lake Champlain

Two men were conducting landing and takeoff practice on the frozen surface of Lake Champlain in Vermont when their Cessna 172 became trapped on the ice. The aircraft was based at Burlington International Airport and had been using the frozen lake as a practice surface.

The aircraft landed approximately three-quarters of a mile offshore near the Milton area. After landing, the crew was unable to depart the ice before the surface began to give way. The airplane started sinking through the deteriorating ice, turning what had been a recreational landing exercise into a survival situation.

The pilot and passenger escaped the aircraft and began making their way toward shore. The ice was melting and unstable, and the two men at times had to move through three to four feet of water. They covered roughly three-quarters of a mile to reach the access area, where rescue crews met them.

The passenger was taken to Northwest Medical Center for exposure to the cold and was released. The pilot did not seek medical treatment. Vermont emergency officials also reported that approximately thirty gallons of gasoline remained contained and did not create a separate environmental hazard.

The incident is a particularly stark illustration of the difference between an apparently usable frozen surface and one capable of safely supporting an aircraft through the complete landing-and-takeoff cycle. The aircraft had been able to land on the ice, but the surface condition did not provide a safe margin for the subsequent departure.

By the time rescue crews reached the men, the most important part of the emergency had already been completed by the occupants themselves: they had left the aircraft and crossed deteriorating ice and open water to reach solid ground.

“A small Cessna 172 aircraft sank through the ice on Lake Champlain near Milton, Vermont, after an attempted landing on the frozen lake.”

Accident Facts

Sources

• Video source (ATC/audio reconstruction)
• Burlington Free Press reporting on the Lake Champlain incident.
• The Islander, April 14, 2015, report on the aircraft sinking into the ice.
• Video/ATC recording