Had to happen. Duc, overturned Phila PA

[deniseO30]

I'm watcing this as I post it here. Sad day for Ducks! Looks like every but the pilots are ok. sad. but I had to happen. those things were never designed for touring. 37 people X 125 lbs - well over 2 tons


2 Teens Missing, Dozens Rescued After "Duck Boat" Crash In Delaware River - cbs3.com

[svHyLyte]

What a terrible shame. But, it is not because the DUKW is not a capable vehicle. (See DUKW - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ). It was run over by another boat.

FWIW,,,

[deniseO30]

Looks like 2 died, they won't say for sure.

[SVCarolena]

Very sad, and as I recall, this isn't the first Duck accident.

[deniseO30]

2 young people are still missing. They found the duck under 40ft. Passengers said they were all yelling trying to get the Tug pilot to alter course... Little do they know. I don't care how "seaworthy" ducks are they should have a escort boat with them. 37 people the current in Phila is like 6 knots or more! All duck tours have been stopped pending investigation of course.

[WouldaShoulda]

Originally Posted by svHyLyte

What a terrible shame. But, it is not because the DUKW is not a capable vehicle. (See DUKW - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ). It was run over by another boat.

FWIW,,,

Tourists should just stay home and watch TV.

It's much safer!!

[RhythmDoctor]

I took the Duck Tour last October with my son's 7th grade class. They go along the Philadelphia side of the river, right in the shipping lane. I know the investigation is pending, but from the snippets I've heard, there are a couple of questions:

• Why didn't the captain have everyone put on life vests immediately when the engine went down, instead of waiting until a collision was imminent?
• Why did he just radio for another Duck Boat to come get them? It seems a police boat or USCG would have gotten there much faster, and could have towed them out of the channel. They certainly got there quickly once people were in the water.

It sounds like the engine overheating might have been caused by nothing more than a loose or defective radiator cap. I once had a minivan overheat for the same reason. Cost only $10 to fix.

[nolatom]

Preliminary accounts say DUKW called, but no response from the tug:

Tour boat calls before crash went unanswered - CNN.com

One of the tug crew took the 5th rather than talk with NTSB.

I know little about the "Ducks" except having seen them around, but from the photo, I doubt that any small passenger vessel would fare well if caught under the rake-bow of that empty barge.

Anyone know how the tug was made up to the barge? If astern or especially if "hipped-up" on opposite side of the barge, then could have been a considerable blind spot.

[nolatom]

More on the story, this from Work Boat magazine:

Tugboat mate in duck crash invokes Fifth Amendment - WorkBoat.com

[hellosailor]

denise, I've been on the DUCs and they're perfectly up to the job they are used for. If the DUC had been any other type of single-engined boat, a jet boat, a cruiser, a (purely) sail boat, the outcome would have been the same.

The vessel had an engine failure and it only has one propulsion engine. That left it dead in the water, unseen by a barge coming down a main channel. Sailboats and power boats get run over the same way, all over the world, every year.

Now, in 20-20 hindsight, maybe the DUCs and every other single-engine vessel should be prohibited from entering or crossing shipping channels. But there's also the matter of whether anyone on the tug was keeping a proper lookout, visually or on radio.

DUCW? Fun ride! And they're not just old clunkers, there's been a lot of money spent on building the new ones.