NTSB: Inexperience, Phone Use Caused $1.3 Million McAlpine Barge Strike

A pilot did not effectively compensate for outdraft current, causing a barge tow to strike a vane dike last year while navigating out of the McAlpine Locks in Louisville, Ky.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced the results of its investigation April 24. The allision took place at 3:50 p.m. March 8, 2024. Total damage costs, including the barges, cargo and dam gates, were estimated at $1.3 million.

“We determined that the probable cause of the contact of the Amber Brittany tow with the vane dike was the pilot not effectively compensating for the outdraft current while navigating out of the lock channel entrance, likely due to the pilot’s inexperience in transiting the Portland Channel on the Amber Brittany and his distraction due to cell phone use,” the NTSB report stated.

The Amber Brittany, owned by Knight Manufacturing Corporation and operated by Imperial Transport, was upbound on the Ohio River, pushing a 15-barge coal tow, when the tow struck the vane dike at the upstream end of the McAlpine Locks and Dam.

Three days prior, the Amber Brittany had departed the Sitran Coal Terminal, Ohio River Mile 818, and was headed for the Kentucky Utilities Ghent Generating Station near mile 535. Six people were on board.

At 11:25 a.m. March 8, the vessel approached the downriver side of the McAlpine Locks and Dam. While awaiting the tow’s turn to enter the locks, the pilot relieved the captain of the watch.

The tow entered the lock at 2:46 p.m. and exited, proceeding upriver in the Portland Channel, at 2:59. At 3:45, five minutes before the allision, it passed through the Louisville and Indiana Railroad Bridge.

At 3:47, AIS (automatic identification system) data showed that the tow’s heading altered appreciably to port as the tow exited the upstream end of the canal. According to the pilot’s statement, an outdraft current set the tow toward the vane dike.

“Realizing that the tow was going to contact the vane dike, he then attempted to land the tow as softly as possible ‘in the hopes of minimizing any damage,’” the report stated.

At 3:50, the second barge in the port string contacted the vane dike mooring cell. The tow broke apart immediately, the pilot sounded the general alarm, and the captain came to the wheelhouse. Ten of the 15 barges broke free and floated downstream on the north side of the vane dike. Eight struck and lodged alongside the railroad bridge pilings. The remaining two drifted downriver, eventually lodging in two of McAlpine’s lower dam gates. Those two barges eventually were forced through the dam due to rising river conditions on March 22 and April 4.

The pilot was working his first hitch aboard the Amber Brittany, and according to the NTSB report, did not have previous experience operating towing vessels on the Ohio River.

Cell phone records indicated the pilot was messaging on his personal phone just before the contact. Between 3:47 and the time of the contact three minutes later, he sent three outgoing messages and received three incoming messages, according to the NTSB.

The NTSB said there have been nine reported events in the area of the McAlpine Locks and Dam involving towing vessels since January 2020, totaling more than $2.7 million in property damage.

“The upstream section of the McAlpine Locks and Dam is uniquely difficult to navigate, even under ideal circumstances,” the NTSB said.

The NTSB said lock canal entrances require heightened situational awareness, and using cell phones and other wireless electronic devices is distracting.

“Talking on cell phones can have serious consequences in safety-critical situations, and sending or reading text messages is potentially even more distracting than talking because texting requires visual attention to the display screen of the device,” the NTSB said.