Oh, Say, Can You See…

[TEWKS]

Apparently the ship’s captain couldn’t.  First reports are a malfunction in the ship’s something, or something but come on. 

I passed over that bridge a few times. Thought they were built a little stronger than that.

 

[Joe Frickin' Friday]

I screwed up while driving an 8,000-pound forklift once and was surprised how easily the forks punched through the side of a wooden shipping crate.

 

The ship weighs 200 million pounds; the impact forces would have been in the millions of pounds.  No bridge can take a side impact like that.

 

Longer videos (and reports) indicate the ship was experiencing electrical problems three minutes before impact, causing engine shutdowns/restarts.  The crew did what they could; the big black cloud is the engine going full reverse, trying to slow the thing down.  They also dropped anchor to try to get more decel, and they called in a warning to transportation officials.  Quite by luck there was construction taking place on the bridge, and crews were able to begin stopping traffic; this reportedly helped mitigate the deaths and injuries.  

 

Here's a time-lapse vid showing the ship's struggles in those last minutes before impact:

 

 

 

[John Ranalletta]

6 minutes ago, Joe Frickin' Friday said:

I screwed up while driving an 8,000-pound forklift once and was surprised how easily the forks punched through the side of a wooden shipping crate.

 

The ship weighs 200 million pounds; the impact forces would have been in the millions of pounds.  No bridge can take a side impact like that.

 

Longer videos (and reports) indicate the ship was experiencing electrical problems three minutes before impact, causing engine shutdowns/restarts.  The crew did what they could; the big black cloud is the engine going full reverse, trying to slow the thing down.  They also dropped anchor to try to get more decel, and they called in a warning to transportation officials.  Quite by luck there was construction taking place on the bridge, and crews were able to begin stopping traffic; this reportedly helped mitigate the deaths and injuries.  

 

Here's a time-lapse vid showing the ship's struggles in those last minutes before impact: