Sudden Impact
The final moments before two vessels collide are a dichotomous mix of shockingly deep denial and frantically futile efforts to prevent the crash. The skipper’s mind is racing between “How can this be happening?” and “What can I do to prevent it?” Any boater who has been involved in a collision would love to be able to turn back time to see how the accident could have been avoided. Fortunately, in post-accident investigations, we have the opportunity to do just that.
Examining what went wrong, and focusing on the lessons to be learned, can teach us all kinds of things about how to keep ourselves and our guests safe on the water.
A Case-Study Collision
It was 12:50 a.m. when the guided-missile destroyer USS
