NEW YORK—The captain of the Seastreak fast-rail commuter ferry that crashed into a Lower Manhattan pier on Tuesday said he tried to reverse the ferry before the collision but the ferry did not respond.
According to a congressional-backed agency that sent 11 members to investigate the accident, both of the ferry’s diesel engines stopped working, but the captain was still able to steer, the agency said Thursday.
Investigators from The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will test the control, navigation, and engine systems Friday. NTSB staff interviewed the crew members and their captain Thursday, and is also undergoing interviews with the engineer.
The captain, Jason Reimer, 36, has 17 years of ferry experience and a working license, according to the NTSB Twitter feed.
The Seastreak ferry, which was coming from Highlands, New Jersey, was carrying 326 passengers when the accident occurred. The hard landing injured at least 74 people, according to Wall Street Journal.
The ferry was dubbed the “green ferry” after its propeller system was refitted earlier this year, cutting carbon-dioxide emissions in half and making it 33,075 pounds lighter, according to a statement released in August by the firm that did the project, Incat Crowther.
It remains to be seen whether the new propeller system contributed to the crash.
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