Family miraculously survives plane crash in Idaho

BOISE, Idaho -- On Memorial Day weekend, Brian Brown, his wife Jayann and daughter Heather were flying from California to Idaho to see their other daughter Tabitha when the plane hit bad weather.

Brown remembered, “I could still see the mountainous terrain and could still see all of the clouds, but - my overall visibility was just very poor.”

Their plane, a Cesna 172, stalled. Brown said he had mere moments to prepare his family for the worst case scenario.

“I had really just about enough time to tell the girl in the plane that, ‘I’m sorry, I don’t think we’re gonna make it, and I love you.’”

Then the plane crashed.

“I very vividly remember the entire impact and - I guess you could say waking up first.”

Heather’s mother Jayann Brown was grateful when she could see that he husband and daughter were ok.

They huddled together for hours in the darkness and freezing cold, until a cell phone ring tone broke the silence.

Somehow a call came through from Tabitha. Heather was able to call 911.

Nearly 15 hours later National Guard rescuers arrived, taking the Browns to safety.

The Browns say they are thankful for each other and their health.

They’re also thankful for the cell phone, which not only helped them make that 911 call, but also included a strobe light application, which helped rescuers find them.