 |
|
|
|
|
|
The U.S. Coast Guard issued its Final Report on the investigation on December 18, 1997. The report blames the crew for poor engine maintenance and then for lying under oath. The pilot, Ted Davisson, was credited with quick and proper action.
Copies of the report can be obtained from the U.S. Coast Guard Office of Investigations and Analysis.
Phone (202) 267-1430.
The Associated Press 19 December 1997New Orleans - Crew members on a freighter that crashed into a riverside shopping mall a year ago had failed to maintain the engine properly and then lied under oath about the accident, the Coast Guard said yesterday.
A clogged oil filter and low oil pressure caused the engine to shut down, sending the ship barreling out of control into the crowded Riverwalk mall, according to the report. But it was the failure of the freighter's owners and crew to maintain and test equipment - and fix longstanding engine problems - that ultimately caused the accident, the lead investigator said.
"What really caused this casualty was human factors," said Coast Guard Capt. Tony Regalbuto, chairman of the board investigating the accident. "People who were supposed to know better did not do things they were supposed to do or did things they were not supposed to do."
The Bright Field, bound for Japan with a load of corn, sliced into the mall, the Hilton Hotel and a parking garage along the Mississippi River on Dec. 14, 1996, narrowly missing a riverboat casino. More than 100 people were injured.
The panel recommended that the government of Liberia, where the Bright Field is registered, take action for the "negligence, misconduct and false testimony" of the ship's crew and operators.
No criminal charges will be pursued in the United States because of the difficulty of prosecuting people who do not live here, the Coast Guard said.
The Coast Guard also criticized its own investigators for not doing enough to preserve evidence. It said there were signs some of the equipment was tampered with, repaired or adjusted before testing by the Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board.
Ted Davisson, the Louisiana pilot who was at the helm of the freighter, was credited with quick and proper action when the ship lost power. "He did avert a lot of injuries," Regalbuto said.
Return to Bright Field Riverwalk Accident Page