DECATUR — What turned into an average day working on the river for Peter Serodino turned into brief media frenzy near the Tennessee River Bridge Thursday afternoon. The Chattanooga resident was working in his seaplane when his battery went dead and he had to be towed by the Decatur Marine Police into a nearby marina.
When Serodino and fellow passenger, Rhonda Clayton, finally exited the plane, they were greeted by a swarm of news cameras and plenty of questions from Decatur police.
Serodino flew out of Chattanooga and was doing contract work for Southern Marine Construction Co. The company is interested in bidding for the Decatur Crossing water pipeline project.
“I was doing some investigative work in my boat and the battery went dead,” Serodino said about his seaplane. “We landed. It was very uneventful. I did my investigation as far as obstructions to the construction process and my battery went dead.”
When the craft was spotted on the river about 1:10 p.m. between the U.S. 31 bridge and the CSX Railroad Bridge, rescue boats, trucks and personnel from Morgan and Limestone counties were quickly dispatched to the scene of what was reported to be a plane that made a hard landing on the water, according to emergency scanner traffic at the time.
“We had been on the water for about an hour and found out it was dead,” he said. “It was too weak to start the motor. Hopefully, we'll charge it up and be on our way. ”
Serodino was flying a 1987 Lake Amphibian seaplane. Serodino said he has been flying for more than 30 years and never had an incident landing a plane.
“I hope it's not a slow news day,” joked Serodino. “I do this all the time. I don't have dead batteries very often. I can usually escape before the news comes.”
Original article can be found here: http://www.enewscourier.com
An airplane initially thought to have made a forced landing in the Tennessee River in Decatur today is a seaplane designed for water landings, an official said.
The pilot, Peter Serodino of Chattanooga, was deemed okay. He is with Serodino Inc., a marine and construction company interested in the Decatur Crossing water pipeline project. Athens-Limestone Rescue Squad truck towed his plane to the dock area of Decatur Boat Harbor.
The Lake 250 plane departed from Chattanooga.
"The plane is basically a boat hull with wings that has a motor on top that stays out of the water," said Limestone County Deputy Stephen Young, public information officer for the Sheriff's Office.
When the craft landed on the river about 1:10 p.m. between Hudson Memorial Bridge and the Tennessee River Bridge, rescue boats, trucks and personnel from Morgan and Limestone counties were quickly dispatched to the scene of what was reported to be a plane that made a hard landing on the water, according to emergency scanner traffic at the time.
Original article can be found here: http://www.enewscourier.com
The plane landed in the river between the Highway 31 bridge and the railroad bridge around 1:15 p.m., according to the Morgan County Emergency Management Agency. The pilot was not injured, officials said. Both the pilot and passenger are from Chattanooga.
The plane, which is a floatplane equipped for water landings, was towed into the Riverwalk Marina.
Lt. Jeremy Hayes with the Decatur Police Department says no laws were broken with landing. He says the plane flew close to the causeway and people thought it was crashing.
Police are now asking the public to inform them of a water landing if you are flying in the area.
Lt. Hayes says the pilot and passenger were surveying the area for an upcoming project with Decatur Utilities and Athens-Limestone.
There's no word yet on what caused the pilot to make the landing in the river.
Original article can be found here: http://www.waaytv.com
Our ALFA camera captured the plane floating in the waters of the Tennessee River between the Hudson Memorial and railroad bridges around 1:30 p.m.
At least two boats approached the plane for about a half an hour after we began to see images of the plane in the water. One began towing the plane at about 2 p.m.
Stephen Young with the Limestone County Sheriff's Office said the plane is a Lake Renegade amphibious plane, built for water takeoff and landings.
Pilot Peter Serodino told us he is a contractor and was flying in from Chattanooga to perform water depth tests for a Limestone County Water Authority project.
Serodino, who said he has been flying for 30 years, believes his plane's battery may have died. He was flying with a passenger at the time of the hard landing, but no major injuries were reported.
An investigation is ongoing.
Original article can be found here: http://www.wtvm.com
DECATUR, Ala. – A pilot landed his plane in the Tennessee River just off the Hudson Bridge in Decatur on Thursday, but fortunately, it’s a type that can land on water. A passenger was also aboard. Both she and the pilot are fine.
The pilot, Peter Serodino, is from Chattanooga and was doing some survey work for a utilities project in the area. He apparently flew too low and had to land the plane in the water, but wasn’t able to restart it.
Decatur Police came to tow the plane to shore, and they’re helping with a battery to get the plane restarted so Serodino can fly back to Chattanooga.
Original article can be found here: http://whnt.com
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