<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1573695624494.png" alt="Photo courtesy NTSB" />
 <figcaption>Photo courtesy NTSB</figcaption>
 </figure>LIBERTY, Mo. (AP) — A duck boat sinking on a Missouri lake that killed 17 people two summers ago likely would not have happened if the U.S. Coast Guard had followed recommendations to improve the safety of such tourist attractions, federal safety regulators said Tuesday.The National Transportation Safety Board released the findings of its investigation into the July 2018 tragedy,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/60b99441d63a48428b5dd79bbc37c75a">when a Ride the Ducks vehicle sank during a severe and sudden storm on Table Rock Lake</a>&nbsp;near Branson.If the Coast Guard had followed recommendations for small passenger boats that the NTSB made after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/97b6da0d8d814fbaad1516a3dacf25ef">a similar boat sank</a>&nbsp;in Arkansas in 1999, killing 13 people, the Missouri boat “likely would not have sunk,” said Brian Young, an NTSB accident investigator.Young also said the agency’s staff believes Ride the Ducks should have suspended water operations that day because of the severe weather forecast.Among the files released Tuesday was a letter the NTSB received from the Coast Guard agreeing that canopies and side curtains should be removed from amphibious tour vehicles known as stretch duck boats.NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt said at a telephone news conference that although the Coast Guard's recommendations don't have the force of a regulation, he's “very optimistic” the agency is committed to improving small passenger boat safety. Duck boats should not be allowed to operate again until the recommendations are fully implemented, he said.The NTSB said one probable cause of the accident included the decision by Ripley Entertainment Inc., which purchased the Ride the Ducks attraction in 2017, to operate the lake tours despite a severe thunderstorm warning. The vessel flooded through an air intake hatch on the bow that was not weather tight.It also blamed the Coast Guard's failure to require sufficient buoyancy in amphibious vehicles, and its failure to address emergency exits on such vehicles with fixed canopies that contributed to the sinking and loss of life. The findings echoed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/5f33ee0e1e93469daadd5f3da6bf649d">an NTSB report&nbsp;</a>released in November.The April 15 letter from Daniel Abel, vice admiral of the Coast Guard, said the Guard agreed with an NTSB recommendation to remove canopies, side curtains and associated framing from the duck boats to improve passengers' chances of escape during emergencies.The Coast Guard has issued a Marine Safety Information Bulletin, the first step in the process.Ripley Entertainment has settled 31 lawsuits filed by survivors or relatives of those who died. The dead included&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/e9ea37df0760459ba5ace5fff07e8779">nine members of one family</a>&nbsp;from Indianapolis. Other victims were from Missouri, Illinois and Arkansas.Spokeswoman Suzanne Smagala-Potts said Ripley Entertainment would review the NTSB report and that Ride the Ducks fully cooperated with the federal investigation."We remain dedicated to working with the community of Branson, and continuing our support of all those who were impacted by the accident,” Smagala-Potts said.Missouri State Highway Patrol investigators interviewed duck boat Capt. Scott McKee the day after the accident. McKee said he took the boat into the water because radar indicated the storm was far away, but it quickly turned from calm to turbulent.NTSB members were unable to interview McKee&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/97a50539272942bd9306a5937dc81cfb">because of ongoing criminal investigations</a>. McKee, of Verona, is charged with 17 counts of misconduct, negligence or inattention to duty.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/06f0918ee1904bd797d5089dabb84b70">Two Ripley executives&nbsp;</a>are also charged with misconduct and neglect.Marcel Muise, marine accident investigator, told board members that it appeared McKee didn't have the information he needed to make a proper decision about going onto the lake. He noted that the lake was clear when McKee arrived, and the three other duck boats on the water indicated there was no cause for concern.Some NTSB board members were skeptical, saying the National Weather Service issued the storm report in plenty of time to stop the boat from going in the water.Ripley suspended operations of the boats after the accident and it remains unclear if they will ever return to the lake.Robert Mongeluzzi, whose firm represents nearly two dozen people who were aboard the boat, commended the NTSB findings and said it supports the victims’ calls to prevent duck boats from ever being used again.“Duck boats are death traps which, when flooded, become sinking coffins,” Mongeluzzi said. “The Coast Guard and duck boat industry have the blood of these Branson victims on their hands for continuing to ignore the warnings. Hopefully this time, they will listen.”___-----LIBERTY, Mo. -- The U.S. Coast Guard agrees that canopies and side curtains should be removed from amphibious tour vehicles known as stretch duck boats, according to documents released Tuesday following an investigation into a deadly accident two summers ago on a Missouri lake.The National Transportation Safety Board released the findings of its investigation into the July 2018 tragedy, when a Ride the Ducks vehicle sank during a severe and sudden storm on Table Rock Lake near Branson, killing 17 of the 31 people on board.Included among the documents released by the NTSB was a letter dated April 15 in which Daniel Abel, vice admiral of the Coast Guard, said the Guard agreed with an NTSB recommendation to modify vehicles like the one that sank in Missouri.“The removal of canopies, side curtains, and associated framing from the DUKW fleet would improve emergency egress,” the report stated. The Coast Guard said it would issue a Marine Safety Information Bulletin, the first step in the process.During a virtual meeting Tuesday, the NTSB repeated criticism of the Coast Guard that it issued in November, saying the agency had ignored its recommendations to improve the boats since a duck boat accident in Arkansas killed 13 people in 1999. The board said it has repeatedly urged the Coast Guard to require that the boats be upgraded to stay afloat when flooded, and to remove barriers to escape, such as canopies.The boat's owner, Ripley Entertainment, has settled 31 lawsuits filed by survivors or relatives of those who died. The dead included nine members of one family from Indianapolis. Other victims were from Missouri, Illinois and Arkansas.Two Missouri State Highway Patrol investigators interviewed duck boat Capt. Scott McKee the day after the accident. McKee said radar indicated the storm was “quite a ways away,” so he took the boat into the water, but it quickly turned from calm to turbulent.“I never expected it to get this rough,” McKee said. “Never had any — I’ve never seen it get that rough.”McKee said he didn’t have time to tell passengers to don life jackets. He found himself in the water, struggling to survive, and someone saved him by pulling him onto the Branson Belle, another tourist boat.NTSB members said they hadn't been able to interview McKee because of ongoing criminal investigations. McKee, of Verona, is charged with 17 counts of misconduct, negligence or inattention to duty. Two Ripley executives are also charged with misconduct and neglect.Police say McKee didn't tell passengers to don life jackets or help them abandon ship, even after water started swamping the boat.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/7/1563393605763.png" alt="Rescue crews at the scene of the Duck boat accident -photo courtesy KYTV" />
 <figcaption>Rescue crews at the scene of the Duck boat accident -photo courtesy KYTV</figcaption>
 </figure>The NTSB acknowledged in its report that more duck boat passengers would have died if they had been wearing life jackets, because the flotation devices would have forced passengers upward and trapped them against the canopy, when they needed to swim downward to get into the water. They acknowledged that conflicts with general guidance to always wear life jackets on boats.According to the NTSB report, the weather service had issued severe storm warnings with sufficient time to stop the boat, known as Stretch Duck 7, from going in the water. Investigators couldn't determine if McKee saw an email warning about the upcoming storm before going into the water.Witnesses on the Branson Belle recalled the harrowing moments as the duck boat sank, with people suddenly swimming for their lives.Deckhand Elijah Romero said he could see the waves overwhelming the boat."And as soon as the windows in the back of the boat dropped below the water line on the stern, the whole thing went down in 10 seconds, it was gone,” Romero told investigators. “The whole thing was under water, and we could see people floating in the water.”NTSB investigators said quick action by Branson Belle passengers and staff saved lives.The refurbished amphibious duck boats were a major tourist attraction in Branson for nearly 50 years, and Ripley purchased the attraction in 2017. The boats started out on land and then entered the water for a brief tour around the lake. Ripley suspended operations of the boats after the accident and it remains unclear if they will ever return to the lake.------------LIBERTY, Mo. (AP) — Nearly two years after 17 people died when a tourist boat sank on a Missouri lake, federal transportation safety investigators on Tuesday will release the results of an investigation into the tragedy.<a href="https://apnews.com/444b6898aca3450eb6ac718f0bf9460f">The National Transportation Safety Board has been investigating</a>&nbsp;what caused the Ride the Ducks vehicle to sink at Table Rock Lake near Branson,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/60b99441d63a48428b5dd79bbc37c75a">killing 17</a>&nbsp;of the 31 people on board. The boat, known as Stretch Duck 7, was unable to make it back to shore when a severe storm hit in July 2018.The boat's owner, Ripley Entertainment, has settled 31 lawsuits filed by survivors or relatives of those who died. The dead included&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/e9ea37df0760459ba5ace5fff07e8779">nine members of one family</a>&nbsp;from Indianapolis. Other victims were from Missouri, Illinois and Arkansas.The refurbished amphibious duck boats were a major tourist attraction in Branson for nearly 50 years, and Ripley purchased the attraction in 2017. The boats started out on land and then entered the water for a brief tour around the lake. Ripley suspended operations of the boats after the accident and it remains unclear if they will ever return to the lake.In November, the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/5f33ee0e1e93469daadd5f3da6bf649d">NTSB criticized the U.S. Coast Guard</a>&nbsp;for ignoring its recommendations to improve the boats since a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/97b6da0d8d814fbaad1516a3dacf25ef">duck boat accident in Arkansas</a>&nbsp;killed 13 people in 1999. The board said it has repeatedly urged the Coast Guard to require that the boats be upgraded to better stay afloat when flooded, and to remove barriers to escape, such as canopies.That report found that a fixed canopy and closed side curtain on the Branson boat prevented passengers from escaping and likely caused more deaths.The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/97a50539272942bd9306a5937dc81cfb">boat’s captain</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/06f0918ee1904bd797d5089dabb84b70">two company executives</a>&nbsp;were indicted after the sinking. Curtis Lanham, the general manager at Ride the Ducks Branson, and Charles Baltzell, the operations supervisor, are charged with misconduct and neglect.The boat's captain, Kenneth Scott McVee, of Verona, is charged with 17 counts of misconduct, negligence or inattention to duty. Investigators contend he did not tell the boat's passengers to don life jackets or help them abandon ship even after water started swamping the boat.

Coast Guard, Ripley Entertainment criticized in duck boat crash