Mississippi crash kills three ST. PAUL PARK. Minnesota – A small airplane trying to return to the airport because of an open cargo door hit some trees on Wednesday and crashed into the Mississippi River, killing the pilot and two passengers. Two other passengers survived by swimming about 15 metres to an island, where they were rescued by a tugboat. The wreckage of the single-engine Piper Saratoga, with the three bodies inside, was pulled from the river on Wednesday afternoon. The plane was missing a wing. - Associated Press.