Wednesday July 16th, 2025 12:45PM

Family ditches plane into Mississippi River, rescued by fisherman from icy water

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MINNEAPOLIS - A pilot ditched his small plane in the Mississippi River after losing power, sending him, his wife and daughter swimming toward an island until a fisherman plucked them from the icy water. <br> <br> &#34;He landed us pretty much like fish,&#34; Linda Mack said of fisherman John Jacoby. &#34;He&#39;s our hero because, if he hadn&#39;t come along, who knows how long we&#39;d have been sitting on that island.&#34; <br> <br> A few minutes after they took off Sunday morning, a red alternator light went on inside the Piper Malibu piloted by her husband, Warren Mack. She and their daughter, Leslie, smelled something burning, and Mack feared engine failure. <br> <br> Mack broadcast an emergency radio call and said he was returning to Fleming Field in suburban South St. Paul, but discovered he didn&#39;t have enough power from the single engine to reach the field. <br> <br> Mack, 57, a Minneapolis lawyer, has seven years of flight experience -- including flying hundreds of float planes. <br> <br> He said he &#34;pushed the nose down hard to gain speed and tried to hold the plane one foot over the water and bring it to a complete stall to settle into the water tail first.&#34; <br> <br> &#34;When we landed, there was a big &#39;sploosh&#39; over the windshield and I looked to see if we were still above the water -- and we were,&#34; said Linda Mack, 55. <br> <br> The plane&#39;s right wing was sheared off and the tail was severely damaged. <br> <br> They climbed out onto the remaining wing, then set out swimming to the island about 80 feet away. <br> <br> That&#39;s when Jacoby tossed them seat cushions and yanked them aboard his boat. <br> <br> Sunday night, the Macks dined with friends who also had survived an engine failure. <br> <br> &#34;They brought the champagne,&#34; Linda Mack said. <br> <br>
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