NTSB plans river tests today on duck boat
Federal agencies investigating last week's fatal collision between a Ride the Ducks tourist boat and a city-owned barge plan to take an amphibious craft on the Delaware River today to conduct tests.
The National Transportation Safety Board and the Coast Guard will be conducting the tests, which does not include a recreation of the collision that sank the tourist vessel and killed two visitors from Hungary.
The tests will take place near Penn's Landing, where Duck 34 sank. NTSB did not elaborate on the nature of the tests or say what time they would start.
Investigators could be trying to determine whether Duck 34 would have been visible from the tugboat that was pushing the barge.
The mate at the wheel of the tugboat refused to speak with investigators last weekend, and it's unclear if he saw the tourist boat or knew it was disabled and anchored in his path.
Duck 34's crew told investigators they noticed the barge bearing down on them from 400 yards away. An official from the tug mate's union said Duck 34 would have been visible from that distance in the tug's pilot house. He said the mate may have assumed it was under way.
The crew of the tourist boat shut down their engine and dropped anchor in the shipping channel after seeing and smelling smoke on board. They said the tug did not respond to radio calls on Channel 13 regarding their status.
Investigators today will use a DUKW craft, a WWII-era amphibious transport. The Ride the Ducks boats are modeled on the DUKW.