Ethan Allen boating accident
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Date | October 2, 2005 |
---|---|
Time | 2:55 p.m. local time |
Location | Lake George in upstate New York |
Coordinates | 43.456953°N 73.689938°W |
Cause | Capsizing & Over-crowding |
Deaths | 20 |
Non-fatal injuries | 9 |
43°27′25″N 73°41′24″W / 43.456953°N 73.689938°WThe Ethan Allen was a 40-foot, glass-enclosed tour boat[1] operated by Shoreline Cruises on Lake George in upstate New York. On October 2, 2005, at 2:55 p.m. local time, with 47 passengers—mostly seniors—aboard, the Ethan Allen capsized and sank just south of Cramer Point in the Town of Lake George. Twenty passengers died, causing government regulators to consider new laws on passenger boat capacity.
Boat
There was a rumor that the glass windows on the boat had acted like a box, trapping the passengers inside. However, it was later established by the
Sinking
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The boat was carrying a tourist group, the Trenton Travelers, based out of
Injured passengers and crew were sent to
Victims
Three passengers were treated for major injuries at local hospitals and six passengers were treated for minor injuries.[2] The 20 deceased victims are believed to have died from drowning, not hypothermia, as the water in the lake was 68 °F (20 °C).[citation needed]
Investigation
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Speculation about the cause of the capsizing originally centered on the sizable wake of a much larger cruise ship, the Lake George Steamboat Company's Mohican, which traverses Lake George daily. However, no evidence emerged to support this theory. Tourists at a nearby camp reported that the Mohican did not pass the area of the lake where the Ethan Allen sank until 20 minutes later.[citation needed]
There were multiple reports by people near and around the lake of several other boats being in the vicinity. Reports from some people at local campsites claim that a speed boat had passed by, while others claim the lake was calm. Warren County Police did not confirm whether there were other boats around the Ethan Allen. The weather was also not a factor in this sinking, as the skies were clear and the wind was calm.[citation needed]
On October 3, the Ethan Allen was raised by investigators and taken to the Warren County Airport. The following week, the Ethan Allen was returned to Lake George for a series of tests to determine what caused it to capsize. According to WRGB, the Mohican was used during tests on three consecutive days. On October 15 it was confirmed that the Ethan Allen was making a sharp turn and that weight was a factor for the capsizing. On November 4, the alcohol results from the toxicology center showed that the captain of the Ethan Allen did not drink alcohol on the day of the sinking.[citation needed]
On February 3, 2006, the official police report for the Ethan Allen sinking was released after a three-month delay. The report is 530 pages in three volumes, with all the information about the Ethan Allen. There has been much discussion over whether or not the Mohican did or did not pass the Ethan Allen, causing it to capsize. People around and on the lake at the time claim the Mohican had passed 20 minutes after the Ethan Allen had capsized. The pilot of the Ethan Allen, Richard Paris, stated:
I started to swing the bow of the boat to the right and immediately encountered stray waves from the wake of the Mohican that was going northbound. The entire boat then tipped to the left and just kept right on going.[citation needed]
Regardless of the actions or locations of other craft, the report concluded that the Ethan Allen incident was not a crime.[citation needed]
NTSB report
On July 25, 2006, the final report for the Ethan Allen boating sinking was released by The
When the owner of the Double Dolphin fitted the boat with an elaborate pipe structure and canvas top, the center of gravity was raised and, more importantly, the projected side area vastly increased. No retesting to either Simplified Stability Proof Test (SST) nor to Subchapter S is recorded to have occurred under Coast Guard oversight after those modifications were carried out.[citation needed]
In the mid-1970s the boat along with two other sister vessels was sold to Shoreline Cruises in Lake George. The US Coast Guard certificates were at that point still current and valid. New York State vessel regulators were given those certificates and, based on the US Coast Guard officially stating (incorrectly) that the boat had sufficient reserve stability to safely carry 48 passengers and 2 crew, New York regulators then gave the boat the same rating. In 1989, when the owner had a hard (wood and fiberglass) top installed to replace the pipe structure canopy, it was determined that its lower height more than compensated for its slightly greater weight. The state of New York did not have any method in place for assessing vessel stability and the vessel received no further testing or oversight regarding stability.[citation needed]
The NTSB carried out stability tests of a sister ship, to both the SST and subchapter S, and discovered that there was not anywhere near a 47-person capacity. In fact, 14 persons at the official 140 lbs. weight per person were as much as the Ethan Allen could have been certificated.[citation needed]
According to the NTSB, the capsizing occurred due to a series of events. The total weight of the 47 passengers aboard was far in excess of the safe passenger weight under prevailing U.S. laws. The pilot made a hard turn to the right at speed. The seating arrangement put three people on the
]Legal
On February 5, 2007, a grand jury indicted Richard Paris, the boat's captain, and Shoreline Cruises on misdemeanor charges of criminal negligence. Paris faced a maximum $250 fine and/or 15 days in jail if found guilty. The grand jury, which met for two months, also issued a report proposing new laws to prevent a repeat of the disaster. This was the third report about the capsizing.[4] In March 2007, Paris pleaded guilty and received a fine of $250 and 200 hours of community service.[5]
By Friday, October 7, two of the survivors who returned to Michigan filed lawsuits for damages of $70,000 each.
A lawsuit was brought by the victims and their families in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York against Shoreline Cruises; its affiliate Quirks Marine Rentals; boat captain Richard Paris; Scarano Boat Building Inc., which modified the Ethan Allen; Shoreline Travel & Tours Inc., a Canadian firm that organized the leaf-peeping tour; and the Lake George Steamboat Company, operator of the Mohican. On June 25, 2008, it was announced that Shoreline Cruises, Quirks, and Paris settled with the plaintiffs for undisclosed terms. In September 2008, a trial date for April 13, 2010, for the remaining defendants was announced.[6][7] The portion of the suit against Scarano was dismissed because of a lack of evidence.[8]
It came to light that Shoreline Cruises had been sold a fraudulent
The last lawsuit, in which the state of New York was named as a defendant because state boat inspectors were alleged to have been negligent, was dismissed by the state's highest court in November 2012. The Court of Appeals found the state had "governmental immunity."[10]
Memorial
On February 1, 2006, a service to community ceremony was held at the
In popular culture
The Ethan Allen is clearly identified in the 2019 Steven Soderbergh film, The Laundromat, as the boat which kills Joe Martin (James Cromwell) which then becomes the catalyst for the uncovering of the Panama Papers by his widow, Ellen Martin (Meryl Streep).
References
- ^ a b c Pérez-Peña, Richard (October 3, 2005). "21 Die in Sinking of Tourist Boat in Adirondacks". The New York Times. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
- ^ a b Hornbeck, Leigh; Goodwin, Mike (October 7, 2018). "Tragedy in Schoharie grim reminder of Ethan Allen sinking". Times Union. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
- ^ "Capsizing of New York State-Certificated Vessel Ethan Allen, Lake George, New York October 2, 2005" (PDF). Marine Accident Report NTSB/MAR-06/03. National Transportation Safety Board. July 25, 2006. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
- ^ Hornbeck, Leigh; Crow II, Kenneth C. (February 6, 2007). "Law limits charges in boat tragedy". Times Union. Archived from the original on May 12, 2009.
- ^ Kasuba, Jim (September 15, 2009). "LAKE GEORGE, N.Y.: Tour boat operator drowned in suicide". News-Herald. Archived from the original on September 6, 2016. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
- ^ Lehman, Don (October 3, 2008). "Ethan Allen trial date set". The Post-Star. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
- ^ Virtanen, Michael (June 25, 2008). "Settlement reached in Lake George boat mishap". Press-Republican. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
- ^ Lehman, Don (December 1, 2010). "Ethan Allen, tour boat in deadly capsizing on Lake George is for sale". The Post-Star. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
- ^ Hall, Anthony F. (February 21, 2011). "Six Charged in 'Ethan Allen' Insurance Fraud Case". Adirondack Almanack. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
- ^ Lehman, Don (September 27, 2015). "10 years later, survivor, rescuers remember Ethan Allen capsizing". The Post-Star. Retrieved October 19, 2019.