Nine Members of the Same Family are among 17 killed in Duck-Boat Tragedy, as Survivors [Trunc]

Daily Mail (U.K.) ^ | July 20, 2018 | Hannah Moore

[New Perspective]

Life jacket or not they were trapped and the force of the sinking craft also created a downward pull of everything. Having a life jacket on did not contribute to their death because the moment air rushes up it will also pull the life jacket up which in turn brings up the person.

The real issue here is the lack of instruction when the situation kept getting worse, the curtains should have been up and people should have been getting off. It is completely the companies fault for not being properly prepared to handle this situation.

[New Perspective]

I spent many days working the aids to navigation there and have seen some horrific close calls on boats. They just can’t wait to get in so they chance it.

[2CAVTrooper]

I know as designed, the DUKW has high capacity bilge pumps to pump water out if the hull is breached.

And in the article I posted above, they used one in rough surf to rescue sailors in near hurricane conditions, and then in a demonstration, they were used in 10ft surf to shuttle men and equipment from ship to shore.

So it’s looking like operator error and or possible bilge pump failure. It may have been overloaded which would fall under operator error. 29 passengers and two crew seem like a lot for these vehicles.

I have a CDL, and if I were to overload my truck and something happened it comes back on me.

[deport]

Photos, videos, etc of the accident....

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5975677/PICTURED-Driver-66-duck-boat-drowned-16-others.html

[CGASMIA68]

I was aviation out ah Mia and saw them after they screwed up and needed an assist.
Too many novices and no one to screen them out.

[New Perspective]

I hear you loud and clear. Did SAR and boardings, amazing to see someone pull a life jacket out and it weighs 5 lbs from water and mold. My BM1 asked a boater if he would wear it, boater said yes. BM1 threw life jacket in the water and we watched it sink and asked the boater if he wanted that on his kid.

A lot of these people need a wake up call before something happens again to them.

[Clay Moore]

I recall one of these accidents identifying that the vehicle was rated for X persons based on average weight at time of production. The average weight has gone up to the point that it could no longer safely carry that many people.

[SheepWhisperer]

I remember that story!
Thank you for the reminder.

[deport]

https://www.watertemperature.net/united-states/table-rock-lake-water-temperature.html

How about in the 80s for water temp at this time of year.....

[Paul R.]

I’d add, yes, a storm can pop up quickly from seemingly “nothing” in a favorable environment. That’s why the management of an operation HAS to keep a close eye on the weather...

[Davy Crocket]

“My husband would want me to say this — he would want the world to know that on this boat we were on, the captain had told us ‘don’t worry about grabbing the life jackets — you won’t need them’ so nobody grabbed them as we listened to the captain as he told us to stay seated,” Tia Coleman said.

That is amazing. Just like the supervisors in the twin towers said to stay put..

[trebb]

The guy I responded to said: "The water is COLD!!! just speculating... if the boat capsized, a life perserver is the last thing you want on."

I guess I missed the specified "capsizing" and saw the "cold" comment which made no real sense.

[2CAVTrooper]

IIRC it was designed to transport 24 combat ready troops or 5,000 pounds of cargo.

People today on average are probably heavier than 70 years ago. Now add the weight of the canopy, the fold up stairs on the back, the seats, and other items the basic DUKW should probably carry no more than 12 people.

[ExNewsExSpook]

The Belle, as I recall, is owned by the entertainment conglomerate that controls many of the attractions in the Branson area. Since the accident, it has been disclosed by both the “Ducks” and the “Belle” not only had access to NWS information, but both companies also subscribed to private weather forecasting services.

Based on that, it seems rather certain that both were aware a severe thunderstorm warning had been issued for the Table Rock Lake area around 6:00 pm, giving them ample warning that the weather was going to get very rough in the next 30 minutes. The Belle’s captain elected to remain at the dock; the Ducks either got underway, or elected to continue their cruise on the lake; at this point, the NTSB is focusing on how the Duck operators received weather information and what was passed to the operators driving their boats. The company that owns the Ducks claimed there was a microburst over the lake that caused one of their boats to founder—and that may be very true. But its also clear they had plenty of warning to get their craft—and passengers—back to shore, and decision-making between 6:00 and 6:30 contributed to the tragedy.

[GnuThere]

Yes, I agree. They have just gotten it out of the water this morning.