Footage captures doomed duck boat’s final moments

[greentrout]

 

 

[Bassin' Brad]

That's so terrible....those poor people. 

[12poundbass]

I've never seen a big reservoir like TR so I was quite shocked at the waves! Holy cow they were big, that poor boat didn't stand a chance. My thoughts are with the victims and their families. 

[J Francho]

Jeez, that's nuts.

 

@12poundbass From the outlet to Lake Ontario near me:

 

[Darren.]

Weatherman on HLN this AM said the pilot probably thought

they could do a quick run given the storm was 7 miles out, 

but what they couldn't know (w/o proper tools) was the 60mph

wind front preceding the storm--the outflow boundary (among

other names).

 

Awful tragedy to be sure.

[TOXIC]

True tragity.

[J Francho]

Okay, I found the story.  That's awful, and so sad.  My heart goes out to the family and friends who were lost.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/19/us/branson-boat-capsize-missouri.html

[Bankbeater]

This is so sad.  We have ridden in the ducks many times on Family vacations.

[lo n slo]

1 hour ago, Darren. said:

Weatherman on HLN this AM said the pilot probably thought

they could do a quick run given the storm was 7 miles out, 

but what they couldn't know (w/o proper tools) was the 60mph

wind front preceding the storm--the outflow boundary (among

other names).

 

Awful tragedy to be sure.

so avoidable, and being unprepared is absolutely no excuse for the captain of that vessel. many lost their lives needlessly. it is tragic for sure.

[Darren.]

1 hour ago, lo n slo said:

so avoidable, and being unprepared is absolutely no excuse for the captain of that vessel. many lost their lives needlessly. it is tragic for sure.

I totally agree. Hard for me to fathom them going with a storm 7 miles 

away...in tornado alley, nonetheless. Not to mention the less than stellar

track record of Duck Boats.

 

As I listened to the weatherman I was thinking, maybe a legit excuse, but 

a dumb one nonetheless. If i see a storm nearby before heading out, I 

make absolutely sure to stay close to the launch and keep a continual eye

to the sky. This just seems like a horrible oversight. Do hope alcohol was 

not involved....

[slonezp]

I wonder if things would have been different were they traveling with the waves rather than fighting them. I know the boats are not designed for that type of weather and/or if they are capable of riding safely in a following sea. 

[gim]

It sounds like a lot of the victims weren't wearing their life jackets even when the weather turned questionable.  I think this is a good time to remind everyone that they can often save your life.

 

Per the Branson Mayor: "Duck boats are neither amphibious or terrainious and because of this, they are death traps.  They should be banned."

[slonezp]

21 minutes ago, gimruis said:

It sounds like a lot of the victims weren't wearing their life jackets even when the weather turned questionable.  I think this is a good time to remind everyone that they can often save your life.

 

Per the Branson Mayor: "Duck boats are neither amphibious or terrainious and because of this, they are death traps.  They should be banned."

I'm sure he had no problem collecting the revenues generated by those boats over the last 4 years. 

[12poundbass]

9 hours ago, J Francho said:

Jeez, that's nuts.

 

@12poundbass From the outlet to Lake Ontario near me:

 

I get that. It's a great lake and I'm only 45 minutes from Lake Michigan and the local news is 20 minutes from the lake so I see lake footage all the time. What I have a hard time grasping is the size of these impoundments. My big lakes around me are 200 acres so when the wind blows 60 mph you get maybe 2'. Lake Michigan I don't consider a lake for a boat that we think of because it's basically an ocean. The footage I saw was almost like a great lake or an ocean. Hard for me to comprehend. 

[Scott F]

Apparently, the life jackets can be a problem on those duck boats. People wearing them can get stuck in the overhead canopy when the boat sinks. 

[Dwight Hottle]

History speaks for itself duck boats should be banned for non military use. Also with the pending weather forecast those boats should have been grounded for the afternoon. 

[greentrout]

Tia says the captain of the boat told them “don’t worry about grabbing the life jackets – you won’t need them,” so none of the family members grabbed them.

 

https://fox59.com/2018/07/20/several-members-of-indiana-family-among-those-killed-in-branson-duck-boat-crash/

[OCdockskipper]

18 hours ago, slonezp said:

I wonder if things would have been different were they traveling with the waves rather than fighting them...

I thought the same thing.  I know from experience on Lake Mead that houseboats do much better traveling with storm waves than trying to barrel through them.  Those duckboats look as maneuverable as a bulky houseboat.

[Bluebasser86]

I don't understand why they didn't pull into the cove right there. I've never seen TR that rough, and I've been on it a bunch, but I've never seen a 60mph north wind on that part of the lake either. There's a pretty long stretch of water for those waves to build. There's a cove right by Branson Belle that would have sheltered them through the storm though and I have to think they could have made it into it. Worse case, I'd think it would be better to capsize in shallow water versus the probably 70' of water they ended up in. There's an island not too far out, if the captain could have gotten the boat turned I have to think it could have gone with the waves long enough to beach it there, even if it was a crash landing. They shouldn't have been out there, someone made a huge mistake.