ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOX) — The owner of the plane that made a water landing on the Mississippi River Wednesday afternoon says he was showing off to potential customers.
Rick Rief owns the ICON Systems A-5 aircraft that made the landing. He tells KMOX that potential customers were actually in the plane with him when it landed near the Stan Musial Memorial Veterans Bridge.
The St. Louis Fire Department sprung into action Wednesday when it got a call that a small plane had either crashed into the river by the Stan Musial Veterans Memorial bridge, or had hit the bridge.
Rescue boats, pumper trucks and ambulances rushed to the scene - 45 personnel in all.
But Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson says it turns out there was now plane in the water. Jenkerson says it appears someone was "playing around in an aircraft," swooping in low to the river, as if to make a landing.
"We take off, we fly the pattern at the local airport, we go do some other maneuvers, and then do some water landings," Rief says. "Sometimes just what we call 'splash and goes,' and other times a full stop. We almost always land on water, either a river or a lake, just to show water operations to the prospective customers."
Since Wednesday's surprise "splash and go," Rief says he's been in touch with both the St. Louis city police and fire departments on how to move forward with more amphibious landings on the Mississippi River, as well as where to make them.
"I've reached out to the St. Louis (Metropolitan) Police Department this morning, as well as the fire department. I'll be informing them on where we're having these demonstrations, as well as where."
Rief says more water landings are planned along the Mississippi River, but he's not certain if there will be any in front of the Gateway Arch. That depends on conversations with the police and fire department.
The FAA's Central Regional Operations Center told KMOX on Wednesday that it's investigating, but no one was available to comment further.
