Thursday, August 23, 2012

GCL Umpires Assist with Plane Landing Evacuation

When two rookie MiLB umpires witnessed an airplane's emergency landing in Florida Thursday morning en route to their Gulf Coast League assignment, the first-year umpires stopped and exited their car to investigate, with one assisting the pilot and two passengers in evacuating the aircraft.

Umpires Takahito Matsuda (Seiyo, Ehime, Japan) and George Riedel (Rockaway, NJ) had been travelling to Bradenton, Florida via Interstate-75 when an odd sight brought traffic to a near halt: "The plane in the air caught my eye because it was probably only 30-40 feet off the ground that this point," said Riedel.

News: GCL umpires witness plane landing


When the small Piper Saratoga II TC aircraft landed along the grassy median, Matsuda and Riedel approached the fuselage, Reidel explaining that he and another good Samaritan "kind of put our hands out and helped [the pilot and passengers] get off the plane and onto the ground."

When police determined there were no injuries and no statements were required, Matsuda and Riedel continued their drive to work a doubleheader between the GCL Pirates and Phillies, arriving at the ballpark "all amped up already," said Reidel. Matsuda added: "Today must be the most wild day in this season."

The Pirates won both contests, 6-0 (Game 1; Reidel plate) and 4-2 (Game 2; Matsuda plate).


1 comments :

Anonymous said...

Curt crowley is a wonderful poster. His opinions are always based in facts.
He has humor and a touch of class. What he doesn't understand is that most genius's are ridiculed during their life time.
Keep your head up, and remember Galileo spent the last 15yrs of his life in prison becasue he had the nerve to hypothesis that the world was round.
And the way curt calls people stupid and douchebags, really puts them in their place.
Don't be afraid to go Blue Curt, they all do it to you.
God Bless you the rest of the way on your journey to Heaven. Kudos!

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