Disaster ferry 'was at full speed'

The Staten Island ferry was going at full speed when it crashed into a pier killing 10 people, a federal investigator said today.

“It was not speeding up … we’d say it was going at full speed at the time,” National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Ellen Engleman said.

She said the finding was based on evidence from the engine and other technical information. Some witnesses had said it seemed as if the boat could have been speeding up.

The ferry, carrying around 1,500 passengers from Lower Manhattan to Staten Island, veered wildly off course on Wednesday afternoon, crashing into a maintenance pier hundreds of feet from the slip where it normally docks at St George Terminal.

In addition to the 10 who died, 65 people were injured, including three who lost limbs. Six remained in hospital in critical condition today.

Authorities were looking into whether a pilot’s blood pressure medication caused him to slump at the controls and whether other crew members – who might have been able to take over for him – were out of position.

City Councilman Michael McMahon, who represents part of Staten Island, said that Smith collapsed at the controls and appeared to have lost consciousness because of ”health problems and medication” – reportedly for a blood pressure problem.

“By the time the other captain could get control of the ship, it was too late,” McMahon said.

A high-ranking law enforcement source said investigators were probing what part prescription drugs might have played in the accident.

Early blood sample results from the pilot, Assistant Capt Richard Smith, indicated alcohol was not a factor in the tragedy, the source said. Smith fled the scene and attempted suicide after the crash, and was in hospital in critical condition.

Investigators also were examining conflicting reports on the position of other crew members.

Under city Department of Transportation procedures, the pilot and captain are typically both in the pilot house as the boat enters port. “If the policy … was implemented at the time of the accident, we don’t know,” Engleman said.

The NTSB, which is leading the probe, began interviewing deckhands and engineering crewmembers today, as well as survivors of the crash and their families.

Smith, the pilot, spoke with police on Wednesday but was not interviewed in depth, Engleman said. Investigators will talk to him when it is “medically prudent,” she said.

Investigators confirmed that Smith was also at the helm of the Andrew J. Barberi when it crashed into the Staten Island dock in July 1995, injuring some passengers. That accident was blamed on a propeller failure.