Duck boat design flaw flagged 20 years ago

Nine of the victims were from the same family. Pic/AFP

The drownings of 17 people when a "duck boat" in which they were riding sank in a storm over a Missouri lake on Thursday was reminiscent of an accident involving the amphibious tourist vessel in 1999 in which 13 people died.

Authorities were investigating on Friday how the boat capsized and the cause of the deaths, on Table Rock Lake near the tourist destination of Branson during a storm. A Philadelphia lawyer who has advocated for victims of other duck boat disasters said the canopy roof on duck boats turned them into a "death trap" even for anyone wearing a life preserver.

"You drown if you do, you drown if you don't," said Robert Mongeluzzi, who is calling for federal and state transportation officials to immediately halt all duck boat operations. The maker of the Missouri duck boat, Ride the Ducks International, did not respond to a request for comment. A decades old report by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said duck boats' canopy roof contributed to the 13 deaths in the 1999 incident, on Lake Hamilton in Arkansas.

17
No. of pople killed in the accident

'Captain said not to use life jackets'
An Indiana woman who lost nine members of her family, including her children and husband, when a "duck boat" capsized and sank in Missouri said on television that the captain of the vessel told passengers not to put on life jackets. Tia Coleman said that she and her nephew were the only survivors from 11 members of their family who were on the amphibious vehicle when it capsized and sank, killing 17 of its 31 passengers.

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