Ferry Accident Captain Suspended

The captain involved in last week's Staten Island Ferry crash that killed 10 people was suspended for refusing to cooperate with the federal investigation, officials said Wednesday.

The captain, Michael Gansas, sent a letter to city officials saying he was refusing to talk, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. The city transportation commissioner, Iris Weinshall, said she notified Gansas that he was suspended effective immediately.

Bloomberg said it was "an outrage that somebody who can give us information to perhaps find out how we can improve service refuses to talk. A person like that has no business working for the city, and we will take every legal action we can to get his testimony."

Bloomberg also said that the city will institute a series of reforms including requiring an extra person to be in the pilot's cabin while the ferry is crossing New York Harbor, as well as when it is docking.

The ferries will also be outfitted with new radios and global positioning satellite technology, he said.

On Tuesday, federal officials issued a subpoena for Gansas because he had canceled a scheduled NTSB interview.

Gansas' attorney, Catherine Foti, confirmed that she had received the subpoena but did not comment further. It calls for Gansas to appear before NTSB investigators Wednesday.

Richard Smith, the assistant captain piloting the ferry when it plowed into a maintenance pier last week, remained in critical condition and unable to talk after attempting suicide, his attorney said.

The captain's whereabouts are considered a vital element of the investigation. City regulations require the captain to be in the ferry's pilothouse during docking, where he can provide backup if the pilot is stricken.

"I think the crux of this investigation is going to hinge upon the information provided by the two captains," said state Rep. Vito Fossella, who represents Staten Island, "and that has yet to take place."

Gansas told police immediately after the accident that he was in the pilothouse and that he tried to pull Smith off the controls after he lost consciousness, an official familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press.

At least one deckhand has told investigators that Gansas was not in the pilot house, the official said on condition of anonymity.

The deckhand's account was questioned by Gansas, who said the crew member was not in a position to see anyone in the pilot house, the official said.

The NTSB has interviewed 37 people, including three deckhands, spokesman Keith Holloway said Tuesday. He did not provide details of the interviews.

The president of the union representing Staten Island ferry deckhands said that he had spoken Tuesday afternoon with four crew members who were on the ferry. All had been interviewed by the NTSB, and none had been in a position to see Gansas immediately before or during the accident, said Charlie Chillemi, president of United Marine Division Local 333.

"They were down on deck doing other things," Chillemi said.

Alcohol and drug tests of the crew came back negative, and some investigators have speculated that Smith's blood pressure medication may have caused him to lose consciousness.
By Michael Weissenstein