Haitian Orphans arrive for medical care Tuesday at Childrens Hospital in Pittsburgh. The children were not orphaned by last week's massive earthquake, but their orphanage was destroyed. The orphans will be placed in group homes until their adoptions are finalized.

PITTSBURGH — A plane carrying more than 50 orphans from earthquake-ravaged Haiti arrived here Tuesday morning after several politicians, including U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire, D-4th, organized a rescue mission to bring the children into the country.

The orphans all are from Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital city that was virtually destroyed by an earthquake last week. Hundreds of thousands of Haitians are feared dead.

The children, ranging in age from 4 months to 12 years, all are from the Bresma Orphanage, which was run by two sisters from the Pittsburgh area. The sisters took to Facebook and Twitter last week after the earthquake hit, telling of their dire need for help and supplies.

Altmire and Gov. Ed Rendell accompanied about 20 doctors and other volunteers from Pittsburgh to Haiti. The dignitaries, doctors and children arrived at Pittsburgh International Airport Tuesday about 9:30 a.m. and were promptly taken to Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh for analysis.

The children will be placed with temporary foster families in the area while they wait for their adoption papers to clear. Altmire said about 40 of the orphans already are placed with families across the country, including one in Pennsylvania.

The other orphans have been adopted from other countries around the world.

Rendell described the scene on the plane as one of jubilation as the orphans sang songs and high-fived each other on their trip to the United States.

"It was an incredible scene," Rendell said. "After all they've been through in their lives in the past week, the spirit and good humor of these kids was unbelievable."

A plane carrying the politicians and doctors left Pittsburgh on Monday night. The operation was supposed to entail a one-hour stop in Haiti to get the orphans before the plane returned to Pittsburgh. The plane also carried more than two tons of medical supplies.

The rescue plan hit a large roadblock, however, when Haitian officials refused to release some of the orphans. The misunderstanding was fixed by Altmire, however, who sought the help of high-profile officials in the State Department and the National Security Council to secure their release.

The plane, which was only allowed on the ground for two hours because of the high volume of air traffic coming into Haiti, was forced to leave the country during the five-hour negotiation and another military plane was called in to transport them to the United States.Although the orphans arrived in Pittsburgh safe and secure, the mission wasn't without uncertainty and confusion."What was supposed to be a very quick one-hour landing - didn't really work out that way," Altmire said.Altmire said it was an "unsettling" feeling watching the plane take off without him and the orphans. It took some time, but he and Rendell "pulled as many strings as we could" to quicken the process and get everyone back onto a plane and out of the country.He said many of the orphans were timid at first but soon adapted to their surroundings."Some of them had never even seen a plane before, let alone one of that size," Altmire said of the military cargo aircraft. "I think they were overwhelmed."Altmire and Rendell at a news conference stood next to Alison McMutrie, one of the two Pittsburgh-area sisters who ran the orphanage in Haiti.She was near tears the entire time, describing the hopelessness she felt after the earthquake and how she slept with the orphans in the driveway of the collapsed building for a week.She couldn't stop thanking Rendell, Altmire and the rest of the volunteers who traveled to Haiti to rescue the orphans. And although she has work to do here at home, McMutrie said she'll be back in Haiti as soon as she can to help with the recovery effort there."I think I'm dreaming, and I don't know when I'm going to wake up," she said. "All I can say is thank you, thank you, thank you. I'm happy to be alive and happy to be here."

Altmire praised McMutrie and said he was compelled to act after the women's mother called his office the day after the earthquake. He said he admired the sisters' courage and determination not to leave the country without the orphans under their care."As American citizens they could have left any time they wanted, but they didn't," he said. "I think that speaks of their dedication."

A young Haitian orphan arrives for medical care at Childrens Hospital in Pittsburgh Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2010. The child was not orphaned by last week's massive earthquake, but her orphanage was destroyed. She and other orphans will be placed in group homes until their adoptions are finalized.

Jason Altmire