17 die in Branson, MO duck-boat drownings

waltky

Wise ol' monkey
Feb 6, 2011
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Okolona, KY
Even on duck-boats, life preservers should be worn...
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'Duck boat' capsizes in Missouri, kills at least 11 - police
July 19, 2018 - At least 11 people drowned on Thursday when an amphibious “duck boat” capsized and sank in stormy weather on a lake in Missouri with 31 people, including children, on board, as divers searched for other possible victims, police said.
Seven people were taken to hospital following the incident on the “Ride the Ducks” amphibious vehicle on Table Rock Lake, near Branson, Missouri, Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader told reporters. At least 11 people were killed in the incident as divers finished their search effort for the night and will start again in the morning, the sheriff said later in a news conference.

Emergency crews responded to the incident shortly after 7 p.m. (0000 GMT) after thunderstorms rolled through the area, the fire district said on Twitter. Video footage shot by an eyewitness who was on shore showed strong waves tossing two duck boats side to side. The video clip was posted online by KY3.

“Our number one priority is the families and our employees that were affected by this tragic accident; as of this time right now we are assisting the authorities as they continue with their search and rescue operation,” said Suzanne Smagala-Potts a spokeswoman for Ripley Entertainment, which owns the Ride The Ducks operation in Branson. She could not confirm how many crew members were aboard the boat.

Duck amphibious vehicles are used on sightseeing tours around the world and have been involved in a number of fatal accidents in the past two decades. The company that builds ducks, Ride the Ducks International LLC, agreed in 2016 to pay a $1 million fine after one of the vehicles collided with a bus in Seattle, killing five international students. The company admitted to failing to comply with U.S. vehicle manufacturing rules.

At least 11 drown as 'duck boat' capsizes in Missouri - police

 
Man that is bad news. They shouldn't run those boats in bad weather, obviously, or any boats at all. It's not like there isn't 24/7 weather reporting, free on TV, these days.
 
and yesterday i was fussing with momma bear about the new baby taking 'survivor swimming for infants'
not so much now.....they teach the infant to right itself and float till help comes...one of my biggest regrets in life is being a non swimmer
 
and yesterday i was fussing with momma bear about the new baby taking 'survivor swimming for infants'
not so much now.....they teach the infant to right itself and float till help comes...one of my biggest regrets in life is being a non swimmer
You still take a course in drown proofing. You don't need to be a swimmer to survive.

noun
  1. a survival technique, for swimmers or nonswimmers, in which the body is allowed to float vertically in the water, with the head submerged, the lungs filled with air, and the arms and legs relaxed, the head being raised to breathe every ten seconds or so.
 
..it is my understand that LVTs/LCAs were the primary landing craft in WW2--and I've been reading WW2 for over 40 years...especially Pacific Theater
The Ducks did amazing work during the war shipping over 1 million tonnes of mixed supplies into the troops on the front lines like no military had ever seen before. The Ducks were used extensively in the Pacific and even later in the war were used for landings including the D
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-Day and Normandy landings among others.
they were used a lot for resupply, but I don't recall reading much about them--or their losses...one of those statistics that was not published much
...
...I've been in amtracs AAV7s and got to drive one on the beach
...these amphibious vehicles do not have much freeboard at all--most of the vehicle is under water
once trouble starts, there is not much time to get out even if the sides are open
..we had swim training from the AAVs...we would jump over the side and swim to the beach
The vehicles were never actually put through the sea trials!
A Brief and Easy to Understand History of the DUKW - Rotorua Duck Tours
AAV
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and the recent
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It takes a really stupid son of a bitch to advise people not to put on life preservers. I hope the tour company is sued out of existence.
 
The storm blew up rather quickly as it formed at Missouri, OK, Kansas lines, we got high winds and rain and the ducks had no chance to exit the large lake due to their slow speeds..I've been caught in Beaver Lake in NW Ark when a storm like this blew up in no time and luckily we were grounded onshore with the pontoon boat, least we be swept over..arrrrggghh, and I bitched because the wind blew down my trellis..
 
The storm blew up rather quickly as it formed at Missouri, OK, Kansas lines, we got high winds and rain and the ducks had no chance to exit the large lake due to their slow speeds..I've been caught in Beaver Lake in NW Ark when a storm like this blew up in no time and luckily we were grounded onshore with the pontoon boat, least we be swept over..arrrrggghh, and I bitched because the wind blew down my trellis..
but I read where there were warnings well beforehand ?
 
considering how slow the DuKW is, that makes the decision to go out even worse/''more'' stupid
 
...we had emergency evac training for choppers--they teach you to know your exits--without sight
..remember, it is confusing/chaos/etc in these incidents
...once the vehicle/chopper goes under, you can't really see/move well/etc --very tough to get out
 
I am drown proof ...I am a Terra firma girl
..I am paying for the three year olds swim lessons at the y and will pay for the baby..my son learned to swim at the y...I hope non swimmers like me become extinct..everyone should learn a life saving skill...but me
 
I am drown proof ...I am a Terra firma girl
..I am paying for the three year olds swim lessons at the y and will pay for the baby..my son learned to swim at the y...I hope non swimmers like me become extinct..everyone should learn a life saving skill...but me

You’re missing out on one of life’s greatest pleasures.

Swimming is as natural as walking and you’re never too old to learn.
 
i hardly think it takes a year long investigation....they should have never gone out with the winds and the waves
It wasn't until the afternoon that the storm hit, there was no real warning on the radar all it showed was light showers but when it hit the OK/MO line over me it was developing rapidly.
 
Duck Boat Violated Inspection Terms...
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Coast Guard Document: Tourist Boat Violated Inspection Terms
2 Aug 2018 — A tourist boat was on the lake despite wind speeds far exceeding allowable limits when it sank last month in Missouri, killing 17 people, according to a certificate of inspection made public Wednesday.


The Coast Guard announced that it has convened a formal Marine Board of Investigation into the July 19 accident involving a Ride the Ducks of Branson duck boat. The vessel sank at Table Rock Lake near Branson during a storm. A news release announcing the investigation included a link to the certificate of inspection issued by the Coast Guard on Feb. 7, 2017. The document shows that the boat passed inspection but also establishes rules and limitations for the vessel, known as Stretch Duck 7. The certificate of inspection states the boat "shall not be operated waterborne" when winds exceed 35 mph and/or wave heights exceed 2 feet.

Video and audio from the boat, recovered by divers, showed that the lake was calm when the boat entered the lake. But weather suddenly turned violent and within minutes the boat sank. The National Transportation Safety Board has said the wind speed at the time of the accident was more than 70 mph, just short of hurricane force. Weather forecasts had warned of an impending storm with winds possibly exceeding 60 mph. The wave height wasn't known, but cellphone video shot by passengers on a nearby excursion boat showed waves that appeared to be far greater than 2 feet high. An email message seeking comment from Ripley Entertainment, the company that owns Ride the Ducks of Branson, was not immediately returned.

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A duck boat sits idle in the parking lot of Ride the Ducks, an amphibious tour operator in Branson, Mo. A lawsuit seeking $100 million in damages was filed Sunday, July 29, against the owners and operators of a duck boat that sank July 19.


The Coast Guard said the Marine Board of Investigation is its highest level of investigation. The inquiry will be conducted by a five-member board. No timetable for the investigation was released. "The Coast Guard will conduct a thorough and detailed investigation to identify all potential causal factors associated with this tragedy," Capt. Wayne Arguin, chairman of the Marine Board of Investigation, said in the news release. In addition to the weather, the investigation will look at regulatory compliance of the boat and crew member duties and qualifications, the Coast Guard said. The board also will examine whether misconduct, inattention, negligence or willful violation of the law were factors, as well as whether the Coast Guard itself and other governmental agencies offered adequate oversight.

The NTSB and the Coast Guard will work together on the investigation, the Coast Guard said. Duck boats were designed for military use in World War II. Branson is among several places around the country where the amphibious vehicles offer excursions. Forty-two deaths have been associated with duck boat accidents since 1999. Nine of the victims in the Missouri accident belonged to one Indiana family. Others killed came from Missouri, Arkansas and Illinois. The dead included five children. Fourteen people survived.

Coast Guard Document: Tourist Boat Violated Inspection Terms
 
Coast Guard Refers Duck Boat Probe to Feds...
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Coast Guard Refers Duck Boat Probe to Feds; Cites Possible Criminal Activity
21 Aug 2018 - The federal investigation is in addition to a separate criminal probe by the Missouri attorney general.
The U.S. Coast Guard has referred the July 19 sinking of a Branson duck boat to federal investigators to pursue a possible criminal case. A spokeswoman for the Coast Guard confirmed that her agency referred the case Aug. 13 to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Missouri. That office, based in Kansas City, includes the Table Rock Lake area where the boat sank, killing 17. "During the course of the initial part of our investigation, the fact finding part, we identified stuff that could point to some sort of criminal activity," said Alana Miller, a Coast Guard spokeswoman. "And we are not in the business of criminal investigations." Miller would not elaborate on what that potential criminal activity may be. She did say that the Marine Board of Investigation and the Coast Guard Investigative Service division consulted with its legal department before the case was referred. Don Ledford, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office, declined comment Tuesday.
"What I can say is that the Department of Justice policy is that we don't comment on investigations," Ledford said. "We don't even confirm or deny the existence of an investigation."

The federal investigation is in addition to a separate criminal probe by the Missouri attorney general. Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley's office confirmed to The Star on July 30 that it had opened a criminal investigation to explore the possibility of violations of the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act. The act forbids fraud and deception in the sale of goods and services.The first 911 call about the the vessel, Stretch Duck 07, came at 7:09 p.m., 14 minutes after the boat entered the water on July 19. The National Weather Service had issued a severe thunderstorm warning at 6:32 p.m., specifically naming Table Rock Lake. The warning said winds in excess of 60 mph were possible. In reality, winds on the lake reached 73 mph with waves more than three feet. According to a recent report by the National Transportation Safety Board, the captain and driver were on board at 6:28 that evening when someone stepped onto the back of the boat and told the crew to take the water portion of the tour first. It isn't known who that person is.

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In this July 20, 2018, file photo, a duck boat sits idle in the parking lot of Ride the Ducks, an amphibious tour operator in Branson, Mo.​

Robert Mongeluzzi, a Philadelphia attorney who is representing some plaintiffs in civil litigation against Ripley's Entertainment, the owner of Ride the Ducks in Branson, said he was not surprised to learn of a criminal investigation. "The criminal law regarding operations of vessels makes someone responsible if they are neglectful or negligent," Mongeluzzi told The Star. "We have already pleaded in our complaints that Ripley's, through their employees and officers, were negligent. "We fully support a criminal investigation, if one is happening, and believe that the people who made the decisions that cost 17 lives should be held accountable, both civilly and criminally." In 2010, a tugboat was towing a barge that crashed into a duck boat on the Delaware River in Philadelphia, killing two Hungarian tourists who were on the duck boat and injuring others. The pilot of the tugboat, Matthew Devlin, was sentenced to a year in prison. He was accused of being distracted while on the phone when the collision happened.

Several lawsuits have been filed in federal and state courts, two on behalf of passengers who died, and one on behalf of a survivor. Another was filed last week by a man who jumped in the lake to try to help pull passengers to safety. It isn't known what the focus of the criminal investigation is, but there is a federal law regarding negligence or misconduct when operating a vessel. According to that law: "Every captain, engineer, pilot, or other person employed on any steamboat or vessel, by whose misconduct, negligence, or inattention to his duties on such vessel the life of any person is destroyed ... shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both." Tia Coleman, one of 14 who survived the July 19 sinking, has spoken out about the safety of duck boats. She and others have called for a ban on the boats unless safety improvements are implemented. She and her nephew were the only two in their family of 11 to survive the tragedy. Coleman spoke publicly last week about her life since losing her husband and three children. "I was in bed and I woke up because I heard the bus outside and I almost yelled out, 'You're going to miss the bus,'" Coleman said. "And then I realized, they are not going to get into any more buses."

Coast Guard Refers Duck Boat Probe to Feds; Cites Possible Criminal Activity
 

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