Ordeal included a freezing night and a hike through snow

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BILLINGS, Mont. - A student pilot whose plane crashed into a snowy mountainside survived a freezing night by wrapping himself in a tarp, then hiked almost two kilometres through waist-deep snow in shorts to meet rescuers.

The Rocky Mountain College freshman was on a solo training flight to Pryor, Wyo., when his small plane crashed into a forested slope on Big Pryor Mountain after taking off from Billings late Tuesday.

Andrew Scheffer, 18, apparently veered off course and hit near the top of the mountain about 65 kilometres south of Billings, authorities said.

When he met up with rescuers around 11:30 a.m., Scheffer was suffering from hypothermia.

"He ended up hiking quite a ways in his shorts and tennis shoes, in waist-high snow. He was very cold and cut up by the time we found a place to land and could hike in to him," said Jon Trapp, assistant co-ordinator of Carbon County Search and Rescue.

He was taken to St. Vincent Healthcare in Billings, where he was in critical condition Wednesday afternoon, said hospital spokeswoman Jeanelle Slade.

Scheffer had stayed with the 2006 Piper through the night, Trapp said. With overnight temperatures dropping well below freezing, Scheffer wrapped himself in an orange tarp to keep warm, and also wore a jacket and wool cap.

The student had contacted his flight instructor via cellphone at about 8:30 a.m. to report he survived the crash with a dislocated shoulder and other minor injuries, said Mike Fergus, a spokesman for the FAA's Northwest Mountain Region in Seattle.

Scheffer started to hike out after he was spotted by rescue planes, around the time he reached the flight instructor.