NTSB Begins Investigation Into
Conception Dive Boat Disaster
Noozhawk [Santa Barbara, CA],
by
Tom Bolton
&
Giana Magnoli
Original Article
Posted By: earlybird,
9/4/2019 3:44:05 PM
The National Transportation Safety Board has begun its investigation into the Conception dive boat disaster with a pledge to figure out what led to the fire and sinking that appears to have claimed the lives of 34 people. (Snip)A preliminary report on the disaster likely will be released in about 10 days, Homendy said, with the final report completed in 12-24 months.
(Snip)
An FBI evidence collection team also arrived Tuesday to help with the investigation, and was poring over the Vision, the Conception's Truth Aquatics sister vessel, at Sea Landing at the Santa Barbara Harbor.
Reply 1 - Posted by:
HPmatt 9/4/2019 4:14:24 PM (No. 171372)
Nothing like the government coming in after-the-disaster. People you need to be careful for yourselves, cops aren't going to save you, feds aren't going to keep you safe, firemen can only do so much once they get there a hour after fire started. Between negligence and in this brave new world bad actors, criminals let loose if they are not US citizens, and even terrorists - foreign and antifa, always be watchful about your surroundings and safety.
4 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
earlybird 9/4/2019 4:52:15 PM (No. 171402)
One has to wonder what they will find. Fire investigators search for point of origin, for initial accelerant(s). When a boat has been totally burned to the point that much of it has been consumed and what is left is in fragments, one wonders… But they have to do their job.
We humans have a problem with accidents. With fate. We have a need to find the cause, find someone to blame, or someone who might have done more. The randomness of fate, of something that just seems to have happened, is scary. Their inability to control all situations, account for anything that happens after the fact, assess blame, tie everything up with a tidy bow, points up their weakness in a world they truly do not control. Many cannot handle that concept.
Those who need the feeling of control should never risk anything. Shouldn’t get in a car, walk the street, ride a bike, board an airplane, or venture setting foot aboard a boat or other watercraft, regardless of size.
0 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
Strike3 9/4/2019 5:14:56 PM (No. 171418)
Ten days? Just ask the most sober member of the surviving crew what happened. Or are we giving them time to synchronize their story?
3 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
earlybird 9/4/2019 5:23:18 PM (No. 171432)
Re #3, they already talked to Mr. Hansen, the owner of the Grape Escape. Go and have a look at his statements...
0 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
earlybird 9/4/2019 5:59:03 PM (No. 171462)
From several days ago:
Bob Hansen told NBC News that he and his wife were in their boat The Grape Escape in a cove about 400 yards away at the time of the fire and were awakened by someone banging on their boat and yelling. Hansen said the couple found the captain and four crew members who arrived in a dinghy that was towed by the Conception.
Hansen said the Conception was “fully engulfed” by fire.
“It’s a 75-footer and the flame was from one end of the boat to the other. There wasn’t a blank spot on it and probably 30-foot flames,” he said. “I mean, it was just totally on fire.”
One of the crewmen had what appeared to be a broken leg, and another said his girlfriend was on board and did not make it off, Hansen said. Some were crying. They were clearly distraught, he said.
“They felt so helpless. They said that with everything — so much on fire so much that they just couldn’t get to them,” Hansen said.
The Coast Guard told two of the able-bodied crew members to return in the dingy with a flashlight to look for survivors, he said.
Hansen said that the crew told him that to get out, the passengers would have had to go through the galley, which was completely engulfed and where the crew believes the fire began. The crew said when they opened the door, ceiling tiles were on fire and falling down and a second exit was blocked, Hansen said.
Sheriff Brown said the timing of the fire and the ship’s location contributed to the tragedy, with flames breaking out as almost everyone on board was sleeping.
“To be in a remote location, have a fire that occurs, have limited if any firefighting capability that could address … you couldn’t ask for a worse situation,” he said.
So far, there’s no immediate evidence of criminal act, authorities said.
More here:
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/more-30-people-distress-boat-near-santa-cruz-island-coast-n1048811
2 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
Chuzzles 9/4/2019 8:50:17 PM (No. 171605)
Like the Titanic did for ship board commonsense safety regulations, maybe this fire will force boats like this to have more than ONE escape route? More hatches would have allowed those folks to escape instead of being trapped. Will be interested to see if they find anything goofy about the engine.
The fact there was only one escape route for that large of a boat and number of passengers is shocking. It has nothing to do with fate. Everything to do with the boat owner showing some commonsense towards his paying customers.
0 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
earlybird 9/4/2019 10:38:30 PM (No. 171667)
There were two escape routes. The stairway on the bow end of the bunkroom; the hatch above the bunk near the stern end of the bunkroom. Both went up into the galley, not to the outside.
It appears from the company’s bunkroom diagram that that room was pretty much below the galley. The same dimensions. Thus those TWO exits went into an enclosed space - the galley - where the fire is believed to have flared and totally engulfed that part of the boat. The bunkroom was not below open deck.
By the time not many minutes later when the crew wakened the Hansens on the nearby boat, the flames - according to Hansen - were about 30 feet high and the entire length of the 75 foot boat.
1 person likes this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
subal 9/4/2019 10:41:14 PM (No. 171671)
Actually there were two exits: the stairs and a secondary escape hatch.
Uninformed commentators should engage brain before starting mouth!
2 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
earlybird 9/4/2019 10:48:39 PM (No. 171675)
Re #8, never holds them back. On any subject.
0 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
Readaholic 9/4/2019 10:49:25 PM (No. 171676)
I appreciate your input, #7, and always enjoy your comments.
1 person likes this.
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