Captain’s Overconfidence and Poor Crew Training Sank El Faro, NTSB Says
Image: 2016-12-13T183635Z_1_LYNXMPECBC11F_RTROPTP_3_SHIP-ELFARO.jpg
Author: Ian Simpson, Reuters
WASHINGTON – The sinking of the U.S. freighter El Faro in 2015 with the loss of 33 lives came after an overconfident captain set the ship and its poorly trained crew on a collision course with a hurricane, the National Transportation Safety Board said in its final report on Tuesday.
It was the worst U.S. maritime disaster in 30 years.
National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Robert Sumwalt said at the end of a daylong hearing that tracking the loss of the ill-fated ship on Oct. 1, 2015, was like watching a brewing storm.
“At first just a potential problem, then looming trouble, and finally, tragically, the disaster itself. The difference is, unlike storms, we humans can make conscious choices,” Sumwalt said.
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