Lake George, N.Y. – A tour boat nearly identical to the one that capsized here last weekend, killing 20 elderly tourists, became unstable after weight equivalent to just 10 people was placed at the edge of the vessel, the National Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday evening.
Wednesday’s stability test found the Ethan Allen unsuited to handle the weight of the 48 adults who were aboard, said Mark Rosenker, acting chairman of the NTSB. He would not say how many passengers the boat could have safely held.
During the test of the Ethan Allen’s sister vessel, the de Champlain, investigators placed three 55-gallon barrels at the boat’s edge, then filled them with water, at which point the boat became unstable. The combined weight of the barrels was just over 1,400 pounds, or the equivalent of 10 adults as defined by Coast Guard weight standards.
Wednesday’s test was the first step toward recreating conditions that might have caused the Ethan Allen to capsize Sunday.
