Duck boat CEO featured on reality TV show

The CEO of the company that operates the amphibious vehicle, better known as a duck boat, struck by a barge off Penn's Landing Wednesday was featured on a recent episode of the CBS program "Undercover Boss."

Under the premise of the show, executives are placed incognito in low-level jobs within their company to witness their employees' daily working lives.

In an episode that aired March 28, Herschend Family Entertainment CEO Joel Manby works a variety of jobs at the company's chain of amusement parks and other attractions, including assisting in the captaining of a duck boat at Stone Mountain Park in Georgia.

Manby, the former head of Saab's U.S. operations, tries his hand unsuccessfully at the humorous commentary he describes as the main draw of the duck boat.

"The duck captain is not part of the experience. He is the experience," Manby said.

The regular captain, identified as "Captain Howard," who wears a blue uniform with a plastic yellow "quacker" around his neck, describes his job as "all about jokes and having fun."

"It's more of a show," he says to Manby.

In a news conference Thursday, Chris Herschend, president of the company, said the boats were inspected twice daily and underwent annual inspections by the U.S. Coast Guard. He said he believed all safety protocols were followed in Wednesday's accident, from which two Hungarian tourists are still missing.

During the duck boat segment of "Undercover Boss," Manby and the captain lead the aquatic tour of the amusement park without incident. At the end of the tour, Manby instructs the children and parents onboard to applaud for Captain Howard.

"Let's have a hand for Captain Howard for getting us home safe," Manby says.