Some of the countrys most dangerous it terrain. Theres mountain lions, coyotes, not where you want to see yourself, let alone a young girl. A search becomes a race against time. If it got dark, it would really add to the chance she would end up dying out there. Had a girls dream turned deadly . Mom and dad, i crashed my plane. A treacherous journey leading to an astounding discovery. What was that like to see . It was a shock. Im lester holt. Welcome to a special sunday edition of dateline. Tonight, keith more son with into the wild. Reporter there are places in the American West that, quite rightly, inspire fear, along with awe. Like the wild haunts of grizzlies in wyomings absaroka mountains. Like the overconfident heart of a precocious teenage girl. Like the terrified love of a parent when the girl is gone. You have no control. Youre in gods hands, so to speak. I mean, it was miserable. But her . Nobody thought it would happen to Mckenzie Morgan. Youre just quiet. Because theres not a thing that we can do. Hi to mckenzies parents steve and kristy, she was always exceptional, their supergirl. Mckenzies the type of kid that started reading at 2 . 2 1 2 . Started speaking in sentences at a yearandahalf. She excelled in school. Threw a wicked curveball. And had a sixth sense for the outdoors developed elk hunting with her dad. Shes a great kid. But shes always wanted to go off and do the next thing. The next thing. Do it as good as you can. More than anything, mckenzie wanted to fly. Packaged in her genes. Greatgrandfather, grandfather, uncles like jared hanson all pilots. Mckenzies uncle and grandpa got together. We talked and said that if she wants to do it, lets help her out. Her parents were fine with it too. A lot of people would look at this and say, come on, you really feel okay about letting your daughter go off and fly an airplane at that age . I see kids these days and they dont even communicate. They sit and text. Yeah. Our daughter chose to go up and fly in an airplane. I was more scared of her driving than flying. When mckenzie was 17, her uncle loaned her his cessna 172, and her grandfather paid for flying lessons. Bobby powers was mckenzies teacher. Had been doing this very thing in and around billings, montana, since mckenzie was born. That little thing behind you is your ticket to what . Anywhere i want to go. I fly it to canada. I fly it to mexico. You know, you get to see things that a lot of times other people are never going to get to see. So when the girls showed up at her Flight School in nearby laurel in august 2013, brimming with confidence, bobby jumped right in. She could see right away that mckenzie was a natural, like when she put her in frosted goggles and asked her to fly by instruments only. I put her in situations where she couldnt see out the window and i would say mckenzie, where is the airport, and she would shock me because she could point. Im like, holy smokes. So when the time came for mckenzie to fly solo, bobbi didnt worry. How did she do . She was great. She was awesome. Its a traditional after the first flight to cut out the back of your tshirt. A friend took the picture. A second solo went just as well. And then, after three weeks of training, one last test flight. The big one, the Cross Country solo. The faa insists it be at least five hours, over 150 nautical miles, with stops in three different airports, followed by three landings at a towered airport. In this case, billings, montana. A challenge, of course. But if mckenzie was confident, and she was, well then, so were her parents. Its not that she just was sent up in an airplane, i mean, she was welltrained. Shes capable. She was ready. And so, august 20th, mckenzly left home early, and her proud mom took a picture. And then at the airport she encountered a little push from fate. A b1 bomber crashed during a routine training mission. The day before, a military plane went down nearby, and the airspace over the vast flatlands to the east was temporarily closed. They could have put off the test. They decided not to. Because the weather was good. The winds arent too strong. All the conditions, you know, you want to make sure theyre good. Yeah, we checked that very closely. So bobbi and mckenzie plotted a modified trip. With stops at little airports over the state line in wyoming. Around 10 00 a. M. , checks complete, mckenzie climbed into the cockpit. I wanted to give her a hug in the worst way. And then i thought, nah, ill give her a hug on the day we finish all of this. Because shes gonna go, oh, syrupy old people. But, i was confident, totally confident. Reporter 30 minutes in, mckenzie texted bobbi from powell, wyoming. First leg, complete. Reporter how did that go . That went well. She was headed to cody. Reporter cody, wyoming. After about 25 mintues, she landed there. Texted bobbi and her mother that all was well. And then a second little push from fate. Though none of them knew it, a huge forest fire had erupted to the west. Smoke billowed towards mckenzies revised flight path. By now, mckenzie was on her way to greybull, wyoming. Tiny airport, tucked behind a ridge, hard to see from the air through the smokey haze, White Knuckle landing. The message you got was that it wasnt as easy this time . Right. She let me know, you know, that she got a little disoriented but things went well, and she was on greybull. And she was going to go ahead and taxi over, tie the plane down, take a little break. Reporter she texted that she ate lunch, refueled and, because one runway was closed for repairs, she used an alternate runway, heading in a different direction. Still the last leg was the easiest. The flight plan called for mckenzie to follow the bighorn river, over the yellowtail dam, make her landings at the billings airport. And then a final short flight back to laurel, where bobbi was waiting. Of course im excited. Now were you know, were really rolling. We dont have far to go here now. Closer to home. Reporter it was midafternoon now. Mckenzies mother hadnt heard from her for awhile and suddenly sensed something off. I had that eerie feeling, you know, the kind that you dont entertain as a parent. Reporter her father, driving to work, felt it too. Something just wasnt right, and i was an hour out of town. I turned around and came back. Reporter bobbi expected to hear from mckenzie about 3 00. 3 00 came and went. She busied herself. Stayed close to the phone. Reporter and that went on, tick, tick, tick . Yes. When did you start to worry . About 3 15 i started thinking she should be there by now. Reporter bobbi called the billings tower. No one had heard from mckenzie. You try to think the best. Shes landed somewhere. Shes safe. Ill hear from her. But nothing. Reporter and now its what, 3 30, 3 40, 3 45 . And about 3 50, i get a phone call from Flight Service station. They said your student is past due. I just want you to know, in five seconds, we will declare her missing. Oh, worst words in the whole world. Mckenzie morgan seems to have disappeared and for everyone who cares about her, its the beginning of a heartstopping odyssey. When we return, as a frantic search gets under way, theres more bad news. I asked her what the route was and my heart just sank. A tablet . Yep. But its not just a tablet, its really a laptop. Its a surface pro 3, with a touchscreen. Well it cant be as fast as my mac. Sure, it can. And it is. But you probably cant plug anything into it. I have a usb mini display port. Plug away. And this is my favorite its the kickstand. So youre saying it does more than my mac . Well technically, you said it. [ male announcer ] hurry in for labor day deals. Get 1030 off major appliances 399 or more at lowes. 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[ male announcer ] theres something bold for everyone to love at mcdonalds. [ male announcer ] theres something bold bobby estaba viviendo la peor 17yearold Mckenzie Morgan, that natural young flyer and her special student, was just gone. You just start thinking, what did i do wrong . Did i miss something . I didnt want to admit this is real. But it was. No time for second guessing. I said, i have my airplane here. Ill be off the ground in 15 minutes. Ill be looking for her. She climbed into her plane, taxied to the gas pump for fuel. The manager hurried over. And he said, we cant give you fuel. We are not allowing anyone to buy fuel right now. We need it for our operation. They were running low, said the manager. They had their own charter and a firefighting operation to fuel. What did you say . I just looked at him square in the eye and i said, i need fuel. And right now id kill you for fuel. My girl is down. I will have fuel. And he got a big look on his face. And he said, give her all the fuel she wants. Just get her her fuel. While they were fueling the plane, bobbi got on the phone and began to organize a search party. Friends, friends of friends. And in minutes, she and her husband were airborne. My husband said, you have to call the parents. Worst day of my life and i did not want to do that. But i wasnt brave enough to call her mother because im a mother. So i did the next best thing. I called her grandfather. The pilot . Yes. And i said, mckenzies missing. And he said, i will be in the airplane in 15 minutes. Mckenzies grandpa drove to where her uncle jared was working. It was around 4 00, 4 30. And my dad pulled up, and said mckenzies missing. Im sorry. And then, finally, they called mckenzies mom, kristy. What was that like, to get that call . The bottom just kind of drops out. You know, you do, you go you have that tendency to go dark for a second. And you think, i am not ready to plan a funeral. They tried to stay positive. After all, they told themselves, by now a posse of private pilots was taking off, making its way up in the air to look for her. One of instructor bobbis group of searchers was Billings Gazette photographer larry mayer, a 30year flight veteran. I asked her what the route was. And, you know, to be honest with you, my heart just sank, because i knew the terrain along the route. And its not very good terrain. Such bad terrain, in fact, that larry was carrying an emergency kit he had packed in case he found her alive. I put together a sleeping bag, some bottles of water, some granola bars, a handheld radio and a large caliber handgun because its grizzly country. Theres mountain lions. Theres, you know, coyotes. Its not where youd want to see yourself, let alone a young girl. Brian kjensmo was in his super cub. Hes a graduate of bobbis Flight School, and he and all the pilots knew what might be waiting out there. I think that every person that was in the air had worst Case Scenarios playing through their minds. 5 00 p. M. , mckenzie had been missing over an hour. Counting bobbi and her husband, and mckenzies grandfather, there were nine small planes in the air scouring the ground. Want to go over to 12275. 75. Over the radio, they agreed to divide the miles and miles of southern montana and northern wyoming into a grid. Everybody was looking everywhere. I mean, there was guys heading north and south, east and west. You know, someone would say, okay, im going to go look in the garvin basin. And someone else would say, okay, im going to go look, you know, along the north rim of the canyon. You know, your heads on a swivel. Youre looking, looking, looking. And just hoping and praying that youre going to find that person as quickly as you can. Most of these pilots had been on searches before. Theyd found plane wrecks, but rarely survivors. The whole time up there in the search, thinking in the back of your mind, thinking that was always a concern. They raced the clock. Sundown was just a few hours away. The stakes went way up if it got dark. Because if she had been injured, and had not been found, you know, it would just really add to the chance that she would end up dying out there. Coming up. Phone records provide the first clue to mckenzies whereabouts but will they help . I was like well that make no sense. And then, one of the search pilots catches sight of something on the ground. My first reaction was oh, my god. When dateline continues. Insurance and forget about it. Y but the more you learn about your coverage, the more gaps you might find. Like how you thought you were covered for this. [boy] check it out,mom [prof. Burke]when youre really only covered for this. Or how you figured you were covered for this. When youre actually paying for this. You might be surprised at whats hiding in your coverage. 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Its a brand new day for data. Introducing the new sprint family share pack. 20gb of high speed data for only 100. Its enough for the whole family. Thats double the data of at t, verizon and tmobile. And now you can save 60 per month over at t and verizon. And when you switch to sprint, well buy out your familys contracts. The sprint family share pack for the whole family. 20gb of high speed data to share on up to 10 lines, unlimited talk and text, all for just 100 mo. Its the best deal in data. Come into a sprint store today. Mckenzie morgans parents were frantic, waiting for word of their missing daughter. What could they do . I was, like, well, lets ping the cell phone. Lets see where she last made her call. They asked the police to pull her phone record, eventually learned she last used her phone at 2 30, half an hour before she was due back in billings. After that, nothing. Then they looked at the gps coordinates of the call. And, oh no. It was four miles, four, five miles south of cody. It was, like, that makes no i couldnt, in my head, fathom. I was, like, well, that makes no sense. Its a 180 degrees the wrong way. Mckenzie was supposed to be here in billings airspace. Instead, the phone pinged south of cody, wyoming. Up in the air, bobbi heard the news and was alarmed. Mckenzie was way too close to the mountains. How could she be here . You know, id watched her flying skills. I was totally confident that there was just no way she would become this confused. Mckenzies uncle and grandfather moved their search to the area the ping came from. Still no sign of mckenzie. Not a single searcher saw a clue, anywhere. Theres not an airplane sitting at fort smith. No, theres not an airplane sitting at greybull. No, she didnt go back to cody. She hasnt arrived back in laurel. Mckenzies plane, like all such planes, was equipped with an emergency beacon, an elt, they call it, which should go off in a crash. But there was no signal from any elt. So what did that make you think . That shes safe. If her elt was going off, theyd pick up the signal and we could find her. So youre thinking, okay, this is a positive. Unless. Unless it hadnt gone off because of something very, very bad. Not having it meant that the airplane had crashed very severely, or was upside down, or possibly burned. Shadows lengthened in the deepening afternoon. The forest fires smoky tail blurred the ground beneath them. And mckenzies family . All they had to hang on to was knowledge that the searchers wouldnt quit. Was there solace in that . No. I mean, it was miserable. Im not going to lie. Up in the air, they kept looking. Suddenly, larry mayer spotted a crashed plane right beneath him. I guess i was just a little startled to be looking for an airplane and then see an airplane sitting there. Brian saw it too. My first reaction of seeing an airplane down below was, oh my god, i found her. But no, he hadnt. The wreckage was from a fatal crash larry covered for the paper years earlier, but it just adds more fuel to the fire that, you know, youre running out number one, youre running out of time. Its getting dark. This is probably what im going to find someplace up here. They fought to focus through the evening shadows. Brian, in his super cub, equipped to fly low and slow, skimmed the trees and rocky peaks. You get into a place called black canyon, which is, you know, vertical cliff walls and black timber down in the bottom of it that you know, its like finding a needle in a haystack in there. By 8 00 p. M. , mckenzie was five hours overdue. The rescue pilots were tired and running out of fuel and daylight. And then the authorities called. We have passed it along to the search and rescue process to the air force at this time. The military would take over, the man said. Would send out a team in the morning. And in 30 minutes bobbi and her friends would be ordered out of the air. Bobbi had one last area to search. Shell canyon in the big horn mountains. Rough, rugged, horrid terrain. Out of all the wrong ways she couldve gone, it wouldve been the worst. She combed shell canyon, back and forth in the growing dark. Nothing. In all that time i kept thinking, why didnt i give her that hug . Why didnt i give her that hug . Id have given anything to give her just one hug. The setting sun in montana and wyoming can be a glorious thing, but that evening, for nine discouraged pilots, it was terrifying. But, of course, they were entirely unaware of the disaster and the drama they didnt see on the ground. Coming up, that ground was here. A forbidding back country, rife with danger. It. Puts that eerie feeling on your body, makes the hair stand up on your back. But this hunter sees something more troubling in the sky. The plane is flying right into a trap . Yep. Clothes are really keeping up with us. Fit, style, performance. Discover the look of quality backed by our satisfaction guarantee. Available at walmart and walmart. Com. Save money, live better. Walmart. Bananas. Rice cakes. Raspberries. Toast [ kelly ] jif hazelnut spread makes anything your new favorite thing. Spoons which is why this choosy mom chooses jif. New allyoucaneat be the fcrosscut ribspplebees and discover their tender bonein flavor. Just dont be the last to try them and their three irresistible sauces. Im serious. Do not be the last person. New crosscut ribs are now allyoucaneat for a limited time. Only at applebees. And come in late night for halfprice apps. Nine small planes were about to give up their search for a missing teenaged pilot, hope dying with the setting sun. We all looked until the last light. You know, the absolute last light. So as the minutes tick by, the passage of time changes somehow, doesnt it . It does. Yeah. It felt like days. But, here, on the outskirts of a little place called douglas, wyoming, an outdoorsman named Josh Alexander was about to get roped into the same story. If you were given your choice of some way to spend two weeks . You can do whatever you want. What would it be . Id be in the mountains hunting somewhere. Its what i live for. Joshs friend and colleague nathan coyle feels just the same way. Theres places that, yeah, you can go and not see people for days. Those are kind of the sweet spots for you . Yeah. Theyre very relaxing, very calm, quiet. In august of 2013, josh and nate planned to spend a few days in one of those sweet spots, a place most of us will never see, the absarokas in western wyoming. Some of the most remote and spectacular mountains in the country. The purpose of the trip . To scout for big horn sheep. Not easy. They live on jagged perches 10,000 feet up, and more, theyre like ghosts, there for a fleeting moment, then gone again. Inhospitable country. Its steep. Its rugged. Its all rock. Base camp was 9,000 feet up in an abandoned mining town called kirwin. On the first day, august 19th, they saw five grizzly bears. It puts that eerie feeling in your body, makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck, you know. Josh brought his horses duke, the palomino, and dirty devil, or double d, the stubborn one. The next day was august 20th, the very same day Mckenzie Morgan set off from laurel, montana on her first solo Cross Country flight. Nate and josh were picking their way up a rocky pathway to greybull pass, elevation 12,500. Double d didnt like it, tried to turn and go home and, in his thrashing, slipped and tumbled down the rocky slope, dragging josh with him. I couldnt get kicked out of the stirrups fast enough. He went over, smashed my ankle, and tore up his front leg also. The horse cut its leg. Josh sprained his ankle. But, give up, go home . No. Way too tough for that. Even though youre hurt like crazy and your horse is injured, why . Had to see whats on the other side. Didnt ride all that way for nothing. So they pushed on, about 300 yards to the top. Miles and miles of vast isolation around them. In an average year, said park rangers, only one or two human beings ever sets foot up here. It was very windy. When we got on the top of that pass, it was probably 35, 40 mileanhour wind. Just howling around you. Screaming. But oh, the sights. Like a herd of elk, 200 of them. I was standing up there, looking through my binoculars, watching them elk in the bottom. And i looked at them for maybe two minutes. The sound of an airplane broke his concentration. It was a little plane, a cessna 172. It just kept getting louder and louder and louder. The first thing you thought was, why are they down that low . The Second Thought was alarm. That plane was surrounded by sheer mountain walls on all sides. So the plane is flying right into a trap . Yep. Flying right into a rock wall. They heard the plane throttle up, then watched it try to accelerate up and over the lowest peak. But soon as that plane cleared the top, the wind caught it and just jerked the right wing of that airplane straight up in the air and basically turned it straight around and sent it crashing to the ground. Whats it like to see that . The first thing in your head was, man, i just watched a plane crash. And then it sinks in and hits, oh, i just watched a plane crash. And then thoughts start running through your head. What are you going to do . Whos in there . You know, whos in there . How many are in there . Are they alive . Are they dead . Can i safely get myself in there to find out or not . Theres a Cardinal Rule of survival in the wilderness, stick together. They broke it. Josh knew first aid, decided he should look for survivors. Nate was good with gps coordinates. So i gave nate the gps and the best horse i got and said, you ride down to camp and get in the truck, and go down to where you can call some help. But separating, and then hurrying on that terrain was dangerous. The horses fought to stay together. Fear was having that horse go down with nate, and then nobody would be able to make it to get down and call for help. They slipped and slid. It took nate more than an hour to get to the top of the road. He got in his truck and began a frantic drive down the mountain to reach to an area with cell service. And as i was coming out, i come around this corner. And there was a guy standing in the road, waving his hands. And i was, like, what in the world . The road was blocked by a smashed truck hanging halfway over the edge. Nate helped the driver move his truck, and then went hurtling back down the mountain to get help. Meanwhile, back at 12,000 feet, josh was a long half mile from the crash. I sat there and glassed that plane for probably five minutes waiting to see if i could see movement in it or if anybody was going to crawl out of it or anything else. And nobody got out of it. So i assumed the worst. And then, as he kept looking at it, something surprising happened. Then i could see some movement at the plane. Was it a person, an animal . Too far away to see. He couldnt just hurry over. He had a sprained ankle, an injured horse. And to get to that crumpled plane, hed have to go down first, a steep slippery slope. I had to walk the horse all the way down to the bottom, sinking in up to its knees in the dirt and rock. Carefully, he coaxed the limping double d toward the plane. Down all the switchbacks and then bail off the trail and go down to the creek. He followed the creek bed. And then, as he worked his way toward the plane, something caught his eye. And he looked up, and saw in the distance a girl walking in the creek. What was that like to see . It was a surprise. It was a shock. Coming up, mckenzie, alive and telling us her story. I knew the odds that i would survive that were very unlikely. When dateline continues. [ male announcer ] hurry in for labor day deals. Get 10 40 off our best paints and stains at lowes. In awhen does the mercyon. Hurrule come into effect . Als. New fusion proglide rebuilt with flexball technology. Makes maximum contact, and gets virtually every hair. Gillette. Walked in to a mcdonalds and discovereden an extraordinary burger with heaps of jalapenos. For only two dollars. Within minutes, they had also discovered the phenomenon of economnomnomics nomnom. Nom . Nom nom the jalapeno double, try it now for just 2 on mcdonalds dollar menu and more. Its economnomnomcial. Nom. Nom. Nom. L50 off lenses with frame purchase including bifocals, nolines and even prescription sunglasses lenscrafters 50 off lens event hurry ends september 7th lenscrafters loves eyes. [ male announcer ] hurry in for labor day deals. Pick up 3 bags of preen mulch for 12 at lowes. Yep. But its not just a tablet, its really a laptop. Its a surface pro 3, with a touchscreen. Well it cant be as fast as my mac. Sure, it can. And it is. But you probably cant plug anything into it. I have a usb mini display port. Plug away. And this is my favorite its the kickstand. So youre saying it does more than my mac . Well technically, you said it. Well technically, you said it. 36 of all teachers in the u. S. Have been teaching for more than 20 years. What does that mean . Do the math. We need more teachers to lead future generations. The more you know. musica she was very, very alone up here. Very cold, very scared. Certain her life was over, she made a video to tell her parents goodbye. Mom, dad. I crashed my plane. I dont know if anyone will be able to find me out here. And yet, here she is to tell the astonishing story of the day she crashed on a mountain top in one of americas most isolated places and lived. Oh, yeah, even just thinking about it just brings me back. At first, she knew nothing. And then, in a dazed recognition that she was alive and in terrible trouble. She had little food, no warm clothes, no blanket for the frigid night and no idea where she was. Only that she must have messed up somehow. Earlier in the day, when she first set out, everything had seemed so promising. I took off, and im just so excited. And i didnt have any hitches going to powell or cody airport. Her problems started in greybull, wyoming when she had a hard time finding the airport, tucked away behind a mountain range. I used my gps and pulled up google earth on my phone, just trying to look for the airport. And i did find it. But it was about ten minutes just of looking for it. She landed, ate lunch, refueled. So i was kind of rushing myself, after i fueled up, to get out of there because i was like, well, i wasted about 45 minutes here, just eating and gassing up and everything. Mckenzie texted her instructor bobbi powers to let her know she was ready for takeoff, heading home. I was actually super excited for this leg of the trip because i was going to be over water the whole way. I had something to follow the whole way there. But somehow, just after takeoff, she transposed a zero in her gps directional heading. So instead of going northeast towards home, she flew southwest, and straight into some of the tallest peaks in the country, the absaroka mountains in wyoming. That one simple zero made a huge difference. But at first it looked okay. She followed a river, as the plan said she should. I was like, im over water. Ive got to be going the right way. She was supposed to skirt a small mountain next, and sure enough, there was a peak, its top obscured by smoke from the forest fire. And then it dawned on her with a thump of anxiety. She was flying too high. I was supposed to be flying at a height of 7,500 feet. And it got to the point where i was flying at 8,500 and i just and the mountains were still up there. Still above me. Mckenzie knew bobbi wouldnt have sent her there, into the mountains. Thats just not something she would do. Something has to be wrong here. So, i go to try to call her. Theres no service. She flew on, alone, no way to call for help, forcing down the rising panic. She barely missed some very tall trees, and then finally it started to open up around me. There is more space and its, like, oh thank goodness, im a little relief now. Im almost to the airport. After i get out of this curve, itll be right on my left side. I can just land and calm down, and then ill be able to go home and relax. Not quite. Rounded that curve and its a dead end with mountains on all sides of me. And my heart dropped. Mckenzie had flown straight into a box canyon, mountains towering on all sides. She was trapped. And then, weirdly, her desperate eye caught something otherworldly. Out of my peripheral vision, i see all this movement up. And i look over there, and there is this huge herd of elk, like about 200 head of them. They saw you come along. They heard me, and they got scared. And then, a warning blared. She was about to stall. Her only chance was to accelerate straight down, then pull up and make it over the peak. The ground is rushing at you now. Exactly. At this point, i know that i could possibly overcome this mountain thats in front of me. And then, a huge blast of wind caught a wing. And i know im going down. And while in my head, i was thinking calmly, like, okay, i have just got to land this like a typical landing, and i hear this screaming, just loud screaming. And then i realize, oh my gosh, thats me. Like, i didnt realize i was doing it. In my head, i am totally calm. But im just screaming uncontrollably. Shed have to pull off a perfect landing on a steep slope in a field of rocks. Impossible, but no choice. Back wheels down first. And then, as i brought my nose down, the front wheel got caught in the rocks and it flipped the plane upside down. Just, pfff, like that . Yep. Like hit, touch and then just flipped me. How long she was out, she isnt sure. But when she came to and im hanging upside down. Im, like, why am i not dead right now . Im not going to die in here. Like, i said that out loud. I was just so determined. That she was not killed in her upside down and totaled plane was little short of miraculous. That she was virtually uninjured, even more so. She unbuckled herself, smashed through the front window. Took these pictures, tried to text them. Maybe the gps coordinates embedded in the photos would help someone find her. But she could get no signal. They werent going anywhere. So she tried to radio for help. I was, like, great falls radio 516 mike alpha. My plane is down. Like, im in the mountains somewhere. Can you find me . And that and there was no reply. And i tried twice. She smelled gas near the plane, so she made a risky decision. She would follow the creek and try to walk out. I was, like, well, ive got to get out of here before this catches on fire. It seems to me you had a pretty lousy chance of being found, that the only one chance, really, was if you were beside that plane. Exactly. I knew i wasnt going the odds that i would make it and survive that trek were very unlikely. 12,000 feet above sea level, hundreds of miles from nowhere, utterly alone. She started walking. When shed set out that morning, it had been a hot summer day, she was wearing jeans and a light windbreaker. But here in the mountains, night would be bitter cold. She didnt know it, but she was heading down the creek bed, right to the spot the hunters had seen five grizzly bears just the day before. So, at this point id walked about 20 minutes, and i made a video to my parents. Mom and dad, i crashed my plane. It was awful. Like, im crying and screaming and i just i felt so bad. Mckenzie morgan understood with an awful clarity. This was very likely the end after all. Coming up, a mind boggling coincidence becomes mckenzies only shot at rescue. As soon as i saw them i started screaming like help moo, help me, help me. And then her Flight Instructor starts to worry all over again. I heard one of my friends say, has anyone let bobbi know yet . I was like, oh, my god. Spokesperson get a 1,000 turbocharged reward card with a new volkswagen turbo. Why are we so obsessed with turbo . Because we like giving you power, but we also like giving you fuel efficiency. Like the sporty jetta. And the turbocharged passat tdi® clean diesel. Okay. And the iconic beetle. And the powerful tiguan. Okay you cant forget the cc. Guys, this is going to take a while. Avo get a 1,000 turbocharged reward card on new 2014 turbo models or lease a 2014 jetta se for 169 a month after a 1,000 bonus. New allyoucaneat be the fcrosscut ribspplebees and discover their tender bonein flavor. Just dont be the last to try them and their three irresistible sauces. Im serious. Do not be the last person. New crosscut ribs are now allyoucaneat for a limited time. Only at applebees. And come in late night for halfprice apps. Makes everything more exciting. Like these four amazing colors of Pillsbury Funfetti that turn everyday moments into celebrations of delicious fun. Celebrate more vibrantly. [ giggles ] energy energy, energy, energy. Its inside of all of us. Even gary here. [applause] berocca has guarana and caffeine to support mental sharpness. Oh yeah Early Morning meeting . No problem. [applause] plus, berocca has bvitamins to support physical energy. Some Assembly Required . Awww. Cherished memory. [awwwwww] im bringing down the house [applause. Laughs] two things. One package. Beroccaaaaaaaa mom and dad, i crashed my plane. Mckenzie morgan had just made a goodbye video on her phone to tell her parents one last time, as she faced her death up here, that she loved them. My plan was just walk until i couldnt walk anymore. And maybe if i got low enough, i could climb a tree and sleep in that or just make a spot on the ground for myself. She kept walking. She had sprained her knee in the crash. It slowed her down. It was starting to swell. I was just limping a lot. There were rocks everywhere, and i kept stumbling over those. She stumbled on for nearly an hour. And then, in the depths of her despair i get on the top of one of these hills, and i see this horse. And i was like, there is a horse out here. And then she saw, there was a man with the horse. A kind of scary man, big, bloodied from his fall, wearing a gun. The hunter Josh Alexander. As soon as i saw him, i started screaming. I was like, help me help me help me i immediately, you know, made her sit down and gather her thoughts and everything. Because her adrenalin was rushing big time. Was she clearly upset . Oh, yeah. I started asking her her name, her age, where shes from, where she was flying to, where she come from. Just mainly trying to check for a head injury. You know, make sure everything was okay. What were the chances . In all that empty space, so rarely visited by humans, it was almost beyond mathematical calculation. Like two needles finding each other in a very big haystack. I asked him where i was. Hes like, well, youre in meeteetse, wyoming. I was like, well, i dont know where that is. They looked at her map. Meeteetse wasnt even on it. And so this unlikely trio, a banged up hunter, a banged up pilot, and a banged up horse, limped down the treacherous mountainside in the gathering dark. Not knowing what would be waiting for them at the bottom, when, finally then it was right at dark. But i could still see through my binoculars. So i looked in the trailhead parking lot and spotted a sheriffs deputys pickup and nate standing there. And they were looking back at us. After his long, interrupted, trip down the mountain to get help, joshs buddy nate had made it. I told her i said, well be all right. Right there is help. And then, she got real emotional again and started to cry. Then yeah. I think it was tears of relief. And nate, watching them, had trouble understanding what he was seeing. This young girl was the pilot . I couldnt believe it. Most people her age dont even drive yet. I mean, let alone fly a plane. The sheriff brought mckenzie down to an ambulance that hadnt been able to make it up the mountain. As soon as there was cell service, the sheriff called mckenzies parents steve and kristy, sick with worry at home. Oh, thank goodness for that call. He said, we found your daughter. And shes alive. And then i lost service with him or it broke out. And i said, all right. Get your stuff, kristy. Were going to cody. Mckenzies Flight Instructor bobbi was at that moment about to give up, and turn toward home, heartbroken, when on her radio, she heard something rather terrifying. I heard one of my friends say, has anybody let bobbi know yet . And im like, oh, my god. Let bobbi know what . And i said, im on. Whats goin on . And they said they found her. Shes safe. What a relief. I just started crying. Bobbi, too, headed straight to cody. I couldnt get there fast enough. Mckenzies uncle and grandfather flew there too. That was the best moment we could have had, that she was found and healthy. Larry mayer took this photograph, search planes heading home silhouetted against a smokey sunset to mark the moment. It was an unbelievable feeling. And then, roughly 12 hours after she took off that morning, mckenzie, her family and her Flight Instructor were all at the hospital, together and safe. I think that until you lay eyes on her and you see that shes just fine, i mean, it was beautiful. Bobbi got to give mckenzie that hug after all. I call her my miracle child. A lot of people said to her she should go buy a lottery ticket. Her grateful parents were able to drive mckenzie home later that night. On the way, she showed them the goodbye video shed made up on the mountain. I dont know if anyone is going to be able to find me out here. I was, like, dont play that again. I mean, i had almost went off the road. The next day, the hunters headed home. And encountered yet another person who needed help, a man who had slipped on wet rocks and broken his leg, badly. And so they made a third rescue in just two days. Youre just angels of mercy on that trip. Mad turn of events there. We never seen one big horn sheep that entire trip. But we decided we were there for a reason. It was there to help people. Why . I dont know. But everything turned out good. You must be a person with a sense of gratitude these days. Yeah. Definitely am. Because everyones like, somebodys got a plan for you. Its like, you know what . Youre right. Youre right. So ill make the most of it. Mckenzie, by the way, finished high school and the softball season. Got into college, went to prom. And, in december 2013 all right, honey. Goodbye. Bye. Okay. She climbed into a little airplane to finish that solo crosscountry flight. Mckenzie morgan, survivor and licensed pilot. Thats all for this edition of dateline. Well see you again friday at 9 00, 8 00 central. Im lester holt. For all of us at nbc news, good early this morning peace fullness was ruined when the earth violently fwan to shake. Sounded like a bomb went off. Flames were going way up. Gas lines ruptured, roads buckled and buildings crumbled. I felt something, bam, right there. Now many people coming to grips with losing everything. No insurance. Meanwhile others are fating the daunting task of getting their things out before their homes are condemned. This isnt good. But well be fine. Our coverage of the south napa earthquake continues now. Good evening. We want to take you bou