Kill Switch Systems News

NTSB: Patrol Boat, Passenger Vessel Collision Caused by Speed

The National Transportation Safety Board have determined that the failure of a Coast Guard coxswain to operate a patrol boat at a safe speed in a restricted area caused the collision between the patrol boat and the small passenger vessel Bayside Blaster in Biscayne Bay, Florida. The Board also found that contributing to the accident was the lack of adequate Coast Guard oversight of nonstandard boat operations. On January 12, 2002, the 24-foot Coast Guard patrol boat CG242513, with two crewmembers on board, was on a routine recreational boating safety and manatee-zone patrol in Biscayne Bay, Florida, when it collided with the small passenger vessel Bayside Blaster, carrying 2 crewmembers and 53 passengers. Both Coast Guard crewmembers were ejected from their boat.