NTSB: Army Corps left out critical details before tow struck its barges

摘要

As he approached Kempe Bend in the Lower Mississippi River, the mate conning the towboat Riley Elizabeth sought guidance for transiting the nearly 90-degree curve. The pilot aboard a nearby U.S. Army Corps of Engineers towboat responded, telling him vessels had been "slow steering" through the bend rather than using a flanking maneuver. However, the Army Corps pilot did not mention the barge plant extending some 600 feet into the river.