The National Transportation Safety Board and the Coast Guard disagree over the cause of the sinking of the pontoon boat water taxi 5 years ago according to the Baltimore Sun.
Five years after the pontoon boat water taxi Lady D flipped over in Baltimore Harbor, killing five passengers, two federal agencies remain divided over the cause of the tragedy and the lessons to be learned from it.
The National Transportation Safety Board, after its investigation, made recommendations to the Coast Guard on steps to be taken to prevent future small-craft accidents. But the Coast Guard has staked out a contrary position on several points as it struggles to rewrite its safety rules in the aftermath of a calamity that shook the maritime agency to its core.
Among the issues in dispute: Under what weather conditions should the Coast Guard tell such craft to stay off the water? How should government ensure that passenger craft don't carry too much weight? How should pontoon boats like the Lady D be tested for stability?
The two agencies continue to wrangle over such matters three years after the NTSB issued its report on the March 6, 2004, accident. The Lady D - carrying a full-capacity load of 25 people - flipped over in the frigid waters of the harbor when hit by a squall on its run between Fort McHenry and Fells Point.
The NTSB report put particular emphasis on the issue of loading - faulting the Coast Guard for setting maximum passenger capacities for small watercraft based on outdated statistics reflecting the average weight of Americans decades ago.
The board also found errors in the Coast Guard's stability testing, including a decision to allow tests on a similar but not identical "sister" craft to be used in setting passenger limits for the Lady D.
The Coast Guard has rejected some of the NTSB's key findings about the causes of the capsizing. In April 2007, for instance, Coast Guard Rear Adm. Brian M. Salerno rejected the board's criticism of the stability testing. Instead, he pointed a finger directly at the pontoon boat's captain, Francis Deppner, saying, "The capsizing occurred primarily because the Lady D's master exposed the vessel to severe wind and waves."
Salerno said Deppner, then 74, improperly decided to leave Fort McHenry in spite of "obvious indications" of severe weather.
According to the Coast Guard, Deppner voluntarily surrendered his license two years ago.
Despite Salerno's contentions, the Coast Guard has yet to issue its report on the accident - five years after it happened and long after the agency's investigation was complete. Cmdr. Brian Penoyer, chief of prevention for the Coast Guard's Baltimore sector, said the report remains under internal review.
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