KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Houses in the Island Home neighborhood face the Tennessee River, and have a direct view of the Downtown Island Airport. Joey Brown's home sits right next to the airport and even has a view of its runway that ends at the river.
A small plane crashed into the water near the airport on March 25. No injuries were reported in the crash, and the pilot was able to escape it as it sunk into the water.
Brown was doing some work in his backyard when he said the plane appeared to go underwater and then popped back up.
"I heard a, sort of, a big 'thunk' and I said, 'That's an unusual noise,' walked down to the river to see, and I noticed the plane in the water," Brown said. "I saw a bass boat coming up the river. He saw what happened and pulled over and proceeded to put the pilot in his boat. And then they proceeded to try to tow the boat."
The river has seen similar incidents over the last few decades. One nonfatal crash was reported in 2006, and another nonfatal crash was reported on 2011.
"We've seen all sorts of things," Brown said. "But I believe it was a number of years ago, three or four years ago, a plane did go off the end of the runway into the water."
The single-engine Progressive Aerodyne SeaRey was floating with just its tires a few inches above water on Tuesday, the day after the crash.
Brown said some neighbors worry and they prioritize safety.
"I'm a supporter of the airport," Brown said. "As long as all the safety requirements and the routes designated, I think there's been a lot of concern about planes flying over the neighborhood when we have the river to use as access and egress, and so I think there's some concern about the increased traffic and the increase of traffic over the neighborhood."
There were a lot of emergency response vehicles there yesterday, Brown said, but they were unable to pull the plane out.
At the end of the day, it's all about safety.
"I think the cockpit was full of water, and therefore it was hard for them to tow," Brown said. "We would like to see planes use the river for, you know, instead of flying over the neighborhood — to the extent they can."