Loose Rubber Boot News

NTSB Determines Cause of 1999 Sinking

The National Transportation Safety Board cited inadequate maintenance as the cause of the 1999 sinking of the amphibious passenger vessel, Miss Majestic, on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Thirteen people were killed when the vessel sank. The Board's probable cause listed the lack of reserve buoyancy and inadequate Coast Guard oversight as contributing causes. On May 1, 1999 the Miss Majestic, with 21 persons on board, entered Lake Hamilton as part of a regular tour. During the tour of the lake, water entered the hull through a loose rubber boot that provides the watertight barrier where the drive axel penetrates the hull. About 7 minutes into the lake tour the vessel sank by the stern, 60 feet to the bottom of the lake. Seven passengers and the operator managed to escape.