Missouri death toll on duck boat

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by powsmias

Wondering if these drivers who are probably just bus drivers in a way even have at least 6 pack licenses ..

Good question. I say it's not a boat, even though it keeps being called one.
It's an amphibious vehicle, not a boat, sort of like an amphibious airplane is also an amphibious vehicle.
I'm relatively certain with my Amphib rating and my Commercial pilots license, I could take people flying for hire in an Amphib airplane, no six pack license required, even though legally when the airplane is on the water, it's a boat and has to follow all navigation rules as a boat.


Back to I think it's a bus that can float, it's not a boat

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by hpeer

They have these stupid things all over including Philly. I stood in the wharf one day some years ago and opined to my Wife “Those things are death traps, I would never go out in one.”

Some years latter one got itself run over by a tug pushing a barge. Several dead. Now this. Stupid idea.

I have had our family in one, one we rode in Atlanta looked just like the accident one, if your a strong swimmer and comfortable in the water, it would be pretty easy to roll out of.
I'm thinking not many if any thought to abandon ship if you will, Im afraid they mostly sat there and the thing went down like a stone, as soon as it started taking on water, it went under in a rush.

[Mediator]

Horrible tragedy. I rode on one as a kid and see them driving around all the time.

A similar incident occurred in 1999 in Arkansas. A loose seal swamped a duck boat and killed 13 people out of 20. The NTSB report on the incident (https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/...s/MAR0201.aspx) is worth a read.

16 years ago the NTSB determined tour operators needed to add reserve buoyancy and get rid of the canopy roofs. Almost no one did. As we have just witnessed, the consequences of such complacency can be very severe.

[SV Bacchus]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

I have had our family in one, one we rode in Atlanta looked just like the accident one, if your a strong swimmer and comfortable in the water, it would be pretty easy to roll out of.
I'm thinking not many if any thought to abandon ship if you will, Im afraid they mostly sat there and the thing went down like a stone, as soon as it started taking on water, it went under in a rush.

I took my family on one at Stone Mountain as well. As we waited I kept looking at the "thing" and told my wife we should get our money back, it doesn't look safe. She chided me into going as we had a 10 year old with us and he was quite excited.

Next time I will go with my gut feeling, which is usually more spot on than emotions clouded by excitement.. My heart goes out to all the families that lost someone in this terrible accident.

[Pelagic]

Hear on the news today that in the USA alone there was something like (40??) deaths in these boats.
Legally, they don't come under USCG, but Department of Transport....
So assume Captains are Bus Drivers, which is fine.
Problem is with the boats, not the skipper, that have been modified to maximize seats, resulting in little weather reserve.
.

[syPhilos]

I read in a couple of articles that the captain had told some people who actually asked that no, they didn't need vests ...

"The captain had told us, ‘Don’t worry about grabbing the life jackets, you won’t need them,’ ” Tia recalled of his alleged message, which she said came as they were already in the water. “So nobody grabbed them because we listened to the captain as he told us the safety [rules].”

“However, in doing that, when it was time to grab them, it was too late,” Tia told the outlet. “I believe that a lot of people could have been spared.”

I obviously wasn't there so no idea if that's a true account or not.