The following is a marine accident brief from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB):
(WASHINGTON) — On May 3, 2017, about 1832, the Coast Guard response boat CG 29113 allided with the Highway 11 Bridge while responding to a non-distress search-and-rescue case involving an adrift sailboat in Lake Pontchartrain, La. The accident caused a minor injury to one of the four Coast Guard crewmembers and damage estimated at $337,000 to CG 29113. The sailboat, valued at $20,000, eventually sank.
Probable cause
The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the towing accident involving Coast Guard response boat CG 29113 and an adrift Vanguard sailboat was the challenging circumstances during a stern-to-stern tow in deteriorating weather conditions, which fouled the CG 29113’s propellers and caused a loss of propulsion. Contributing to the accident was the dilapidated state of the sailboat, which complicated the attempt to tow the vessel, which subsequently sank.
Click here to read the full report.
