Initially, their rescuer thought he had spotted the wreckage of a downed plane. But as he got closer, he realized the three survivors were standing on its wings.

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

Terry Godes, the pilot who found the plane wreckage, said it was a miracle the man and his daughters survived the crash and freezing temperatures on the wing of the plane on an icy lake overnight.