Francis Scott Key Bridge Crashed By Ship...

[Murphy Slaw]

This is bad.

[fitness1]

Speechless - can't imagine being on there when that happened.

[imwjl]

Yes, my best wishes to the those lost and injured, the first responders, families, and those who will have to clean up and rebuild.

Remembering the Mississippi bridge collapse nearer to my home I also encourage much patience for something that can't be fixed so fast. Even fast bridge building takes time.

[RP]

The last time I was in Baltimore was in August 2011. My lady friend and I were at the Aquarium watching the dolphin show when the whole place shuddered. The aquarium had this 4D show, and I thought that's what it was. However, the dolphins were herded into another enclosure and the visitors were herded out the door. There were lots of people out on the streets in the downtown area. When you live in Virginia your mind doesn't automatically think earthquake, but that's what it was. A 5.8 that shook the whole east coast. We hurriedly packed and got in the car to head back to Central Virginia which unbeknownst to us was the epicenter in Mineral, Virginia. Haven't been back to Baltimore; the place is jinxed...

[edcmat-l1]

Sad situation. I remember the Sunshine Skyway getting hit back in the 80s. That was a real mess as well. Hopes and prayers for anyone caught up in that.

[Cypress Knee]

I used to live in Baltimore. This is a disaster. Why the harbor master did not have tugboats out there re-directing this ship when it was apparent that it was having issues is a criminal offense. But Baltimore has a long, sordid history of letting public officials off the hook, and this will be one more official exonerated in the back room while innocent people suffer the consequences.

[imwjl]

Originally Posted by Cypress Knee

I used to live in Baltimore. This is a disaster. Why the harbor master did not have tugboats out there re-directing this ship when it was apparent that it was having issues is a criminal offense. But Baltimore has a long, sordid history of letting public officials off the hook, and this will be one more official exonerated in the back room while innocent people suffer the consequences.

That could all be true but it is not right for any of us to make judgements at this point.

Have some empathy from this angle. When we lost a family member in an accident, that accident made the news. There were a lot of public comments made before what all occurred was known. Anger and outrage didn't solve anything and to some extent it just added to hurt and mess. Because our family member was not at fault the speculation some did only made it harder. Grief and shock are bad enough so don't fuel anger before more is known.

[Bob Womack]

I'm sorry to hear of this. My wife and I have taken the Key Bridge while traveling to and from locations north of Baltimore. We are beginning to learn that there was a "mayday" call that the ship was loosing power that led the authorities to stop traffic over the bridge, or at least most of it. Down here in Tidewater we have LOTS of ship traffic in Hampton roads around the two bridge tunnels and none of it uses tugs. They help the ships away from the piers and get them twisted into the narrow channels of the rivers and then let them go. I was aboard USS Enterprise when they did exactly this. We crossed over both the Hampton Roads and Chesapeake Bridge/Tunnels on our own power and steering, and, in fact, passed an inbound submarine as we crossed one of them, and rendered honors to her.

Bob

Originally Posted by RP

The last time I was in Baltimore was in August 2011. My lady friend and I were at the Aquarium watching the dolphin show when the whole place shuddered. The aquarium had this 4D show, and I thought that's what it was. However, the dolphins were herded into another enclosure and the visitors were herded out the door. There were lots of people out on the streets in the downtown area. When you live in Virginia your mind doesn't automatically think earthquake, but that's what it was. A 5.8 that shook the whole east coast. We hurriedly packed and got in the car to head back to Central Virginia which unbeknownst to us was the epicenter in Mineral, Virginia. Haven't been back to Baltimore; the place is jinxed...

I rode that one out on the second floor of a large building down in Tidewater. We felt the earth move laterally. Interesting.

[llew]

Originally Posted by imwjl

That could all be true but it is not right for any of us to make judgements at this point.

Have some empathy from this angle. When we lost a family member in an accident, that accident made the news. There were a lot of public comments made before what all occurred was known. Anger and outrage didn't solve anything and to some extent it just added to hurt and mess. Because our family member was not at fault the speculation some did only made it harder. Grief and shock are bad enough so don't fuel anger before more is known.

Agreed. I remember my Mom telling me the story of the very old (one bridge...two lanes...two way traffic) Cooper River Bridge connecting Charleston and Mt. Pleasant, SC being hit by a ship and she was a few cars back from the ones that actually went over into the river.
It's a sad situation...my thoughts and prayers go out to all who were injured or lost.

[Murphy Slaw]

When the Silver Bridge collapsed, the Mothman warned about it.

Even the Mothman didn't see this coming.

[Dirk Hofman]

Incredible how fast and how completely it went down. Shocking, really.

[JackB1]

What I don't understand is that the ship warned everyone is was out of control and that they should close the bridge. Yet still there were 8 people on it at the time of the collapse. Did people just ignore the warnings?

[Bob Womack]

Originally Posted by JackB1

What I don't understand is that the ship warned everyone is was out of control and that they should close the bridge. Yet still there were 8 people on it at the time of the collapse. Did people just ignore the warnings?

There was a work crew on the bridge.

Bob

[edcmat-l1]

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

I'm sorry to hear of this. My wife and I have taken the Key Bridge while traveling to and from locations north of Baltimore. We are beginning to learn that there was a "mayday" call that the ship was loosing power that led the authorities to stop traffic over the bridge, or at least most of it. Down here in Tidewater we have LOTS of ship traffic in Hampton roads around the two bridge tunnels and none of it uses tugs. They help the ships away from the piers and get them twisted into the narrow channels of the rivers and then let them go. I was aboard USS Enterprise when they did exactly this. We crossed over both the Hampton Roads and Chesapeake Bridge/Tunnels on our own power and steering, and, in fact, passed an inbound submarine as we crossed one of them, and rendered honors to her.

BobI rode that one out on the second floor of a large building down in Tidewater. We felt the earth move laterally. Interesting.

Chesapeake/VB here.

[DrunkUncles]

Originally Posted by Cypress Knee

I used to live in Baltimore. This is a disaster. Why the harbor master did not have tugboats out there re-directing this ship when it was apparent that it was having issues is a criminal offense. But Baltimore has a long, sordid history of letting public officials off the hook, and this will be one more official exonerated in the back room while innocent people suffer the consequences.

Form the video I saw, she did not have issues until about 2 min before impact, she then briefly regained power and lost it again.

Do you have other video that shows she had issues that would require tug assistance? As that is most def NOT a TTP for bridge or confined nav ops (as that is pretty much a straight shot with no turns) and she has taken on a pilot - which is the standard TTP.

From the vid I saw, there was no way for her to change or reverse course within 2 min of the strike. Additionally I think she got off at least one MAYDAY. But I doubt that would have been enough time for the poor souls working construction on the bridge.

But I can agree that more generally there is an issue in accountability within at least the greater MVA.