The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said on May 19 that a Mexican Navy tall ship appeared to increase its speed moments before striking the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday evening in front of shocked onlookers.
The board said during a press conference on Monday that it was investigating potential engine failure before the ship struck the bridge spanning the East River, but it has not yet determined a probable cause for the incident.
While videos showed significant traffic on the bridge at the time of the strike, no one on the bridge was hurt, officials said.
Moments after the incident, the ship, which had 277 people on board, was seen on video drifting into a pier on the East River as onlookers quickly evacuated the area.
According to NTSB marine accident investigator Brian Young, the ship appeared to be maintaining a constant speed of roughly 2 to 2.3 knots before it began accelerating to 6 knots ahead of striking the Brooklyn Bridge, which connects the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn.
“We are going to be accessing all the different electronic data to determine at what point the vessel began accelerating,” Young said. “That’s something we will be looking into as part of our engineering assessment of the operation of the engine.”
Young said the NTSB would examine the ship’s engine for any failures while interviewing the crew for potential problems that could have occurred. The board will also inspect electronic control modules for any possible malfunction.
When asked about the New York Police Department’s reporting that the ship’s engine could have experienced a power outage, NSTB member Michael Graham said the board doesn’t know “where they got that data from” but that it will be part of the investigation.
“We don’t know that. We haven’t had a chance to look to see if there’s any recorded data or anything like that,” Graham said. “If somebody has information like that. Where did they get it from? We don’t know at this point.”
The NTSB is at the scene gathering perishable evidence and asks anyone with video footage of the incident to email it to [email protected].
The bridge sustained “no significant structural damage,” Graham said, but there is some damage to one of the travelers, or specialized vehicles, used to access and survey the bridge.
The board is currently working with its partners in Mexico to gain access to the ship for its investigation, including conducting interviews with the crew.
The NSTB will release a preliminary report in 30 days, Graham said. While a full investigation takes 12 to 24 months, he said more information may come out sooner if any significant safety issues are revealed during the probe.
Young said the ship is currently docked on the East Side of Manhattan and will be towed to a repair facility once it is deemed structurally sound.
