NTSB faults Coast Guard for fatal boat crash

[alp227]

Source: CNN

(CNN) -- The U.S. Coast Guard, champion of boating safety everywhere, is to blame for a tragic 2009 accident that killed an 8-year-old boy during a holiday boat parade in San Diego Bay, a federal safety board said Tuesday.

The National Transportation Safety Board said the Coast Guard crew's excessive speed caused the crash between the crew's 33-foot patrol boat and a 24-foot Sea Ray. The crash killed the child, Anthony DeWeese, and seriously injured four of 12 others on the recreational boat.

At the time, the patrol boat was responding to a reported grounding, which the NTSB called a non-emergency. It was cruising at least 19 knots, or roughly 22 miles per hour -- far in excess of the 8 knots prudent for the conditions, the NTSB said.

"The Coast Guard is an organization that traditionally fills the role of rescuer," NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman said. "It is especially sad that a family night of celebration in the Bay ended in tragedy because of a coxswain's poor judgment and the Coast Guard's ineffective oversight of vessel operations."

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/07/12/california.boat.accident.ntsb/index.html

[flvegan]

1. Kind of like a police car or ambulance, it seems?

Not that I'm faulting the family nor pilot of that boat.

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Locrian]

3. not sure where you're going ...

"The collision occurred at night, during a holiday event known as the Parade of Lights.

The patrol boat struck the Sea Ray from behind, according to the NTSB. None of the Coast Guard crew was injured. Three of the five crewmembers on the Coast Guard boat, including the operator, refused to be interviewed by NTSB investigators, the NTSB said."

[happyslug]

4. NTSB web age on the Accident

http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/2009/sandiego_ca.html

The accident Docket:
http://dms.ntsb.gov/pubdms/search/hitlist.cfm?docketID=49325