Ethan Allen tour boat capsize report

[MintJulep]

The preliminary report on the Ethan Allen capsize last summer on Lake George is available at:

http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/2006/MAR0603.htm

The cruise operator modified the boat by adding an enclosed canopy of wood and plexiglass to the original boat.

No stability calculations were performed after the modification.

The tour operator continued to load the boat to its originally listed capacity of 48.

The NTSB performed a post-accident stability calculation and determined that the boat should have been allowed to carry only 14 passengers and crew. There were 47 passengers on board when the boat capsized.

It seems clear to me that there was gross negligence on the part of the operator to not have the boat's stability evaluated after adding the canopy. If the work was done at a marina the negligence may trickle down as well.

Not clear to me is what, if any, inspection NY State may have performed.

 

[dig1]

I live near Lake George (about 15 miles away) and remember all the finger pointing and speculation that occurred after the accident.

For my disclaimer, I do not know anyone involved with ownership, modification, or operation of the vessel nor do I know anyone who was a passenger on the vessel.

I think the term gross negligence may be too strong.

In my opinion, the owner should have done a stability analysis & limited the amount of passengers (not only number of people but also compared to the capacity of the vessel). However, we are engineers and these issues are constantly on our minds. How many people who own cars do not think about the affect of their modifications on their own vechicle or their lack of maintainence?

I can only speculate that if the modification was done at a marina they would have little ultimate responsibility because they are (1) not the owner/operator of the vessel and (2) cannot predict the actual use.

Like so many other accidents, one can only hope that the events that contributed to it are not repeated.

For people familiar with the area, this occured about 3 months after the Hadlock Dam collpase (see thread in Earth Retention Structures) which is located probably about 5 miles from Lake George. Fortunately, no one was killed with the dam collapse.

 

[TheBlacksmith]

A similar theory is raised in the sinking of the Andrea Gail in the book "The Perfect Storm." The owner placed larger fuel tanks and bait tanks above the boat's center of gravity and never did any calculations or an inclining experiment. While the storm was horrendous, the loss of stability contributed to the loss of the Andrea Gail. Also, the USCG had estimated passenger numbers based on 145 or 150 pounds per person; this was recently raised to, I think, 180 pounds, in part due to the Lake George accident. No way a bunch of seniors, some in wheelchairs, weighed an average of 150 pounds each.

 

[LHA]

I vacation every year in Wevertown, just west of Warrensburg. Beautiful area you have up there.

Engineering is the practice of the art of science - Steve