Weight capacity may have been factor in N.Y. tragedy

LAKE GEORGE, N.Y. -- Just days before a tour boat capsized in the Adirondack Mountains, killing 20 elderly people, the Coast Guard began rethinking its passenger-weight calculations to take into account Americans' expanding waistlines.

At the time it flipped over, the 38-foot Ethan Allen was just under its capacity of 48 passengers. New York calculates a boat's capacity using an average passenger weight of 150 pounds, instead of the 1960 Coast Guard standard that assumes a 140-pound average for each man, woman, and child, authorities said.

Investigators looking into the accident have said that too much weight may have been a factor and suggested that the Coast Guard standard might have to be revised because Americans are getting heavier -- something the Coast Guard recognized well before the tragedy.

''We are looking at that, and we know that if you look around at average people, you know this is not an accurate average to be using," said Coast Guard spokeswoman Angela McArdle.

The disclosure from the Coast Guard in Washington was made as divers combed the bottom of Lake George for the passengers' belongings, and experts examined the boat for clues to why it overturned on a calm, clear Sunday during a one-hour sightseeing tour.

At a briefing yesterday evening, the acting chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board said investigators would conduct tests today to see how the Ethan Allen would have handled at various speeds while carrying its maximum load of 50 people using a 160-pound-per-passenger calculation.

The test also will look into what might have happened if the weight suddenly shifted to one side, a possible cause of the accident.

Mark Rosenker, Acting NTSB chairman, also said the 39-year-old boat had modifications that would have made it heavier. Among them, a canvas canopy was replaced with a wood-Fiberglas design, a larger engine was installed, and seven lead bricks for ballast were placed in the bow, probably to keep the boat balanced after the larger engine was installed.

The NTSB will do the tests on the Ethan Allen's twin sister boat, The de Champlain, in what Rosenker called ''a very scientific road test."

''We're going to learn a lot," he said.

Rosenker said four passengers interviewed yesterday told investigators the windows on the boat were open when it flipped, helping some to escape.

An examination of the boat also found no automatic bilge pump in he Ethan Allen, meaning a pilot or crew member would have to manually pump out water.

Rosenker also said a ''human factor" test would study the actions of the boat's captain in the 72 hours leading up to the accident.

Police said the boat's operator, Shoreline Cruises, could face a fine of $25 to $100 for failing to have a second crew member on board to aid the captain, Richard Paris, 74. A state inspector determined in May that the boat needed two crew members.

''You could imagine the things that could go wrong," said State Police Major Gerald Meyer.

''There may be times when someone may need to attend to someone while the vessel was being operated," he said.

The state on Monday night suspended the operating certificates for all five of Shoreline's boats.

Other government regulators also are changing standards to adapt to heavier Americans. Following a commuter plane crash that killed 21 people in 2003 in North Carolina, the Federal Aviation Administration raised its summertime weight average from 160 pounds per person to 174, including carry-on baggage.

McArdle said the Coast Guard awarded a contract just a few weeks ago to a research firm to determine how increasing the average weight per passenger would affect vessels.