Tragic Boat's Operator Shut Down

With only one crewmember and just a passenger shy of full capacity, a tour boat that flipped over and killed 20 elderly tourists was unprepared to handle the dangers they faced, authorities said.

The state late Monday suspended the operating certificates for all five boats run by tour company Shoreline Cruises, including that of The Ethan Allen, which sank Sunday afternoon during what was supposed to be a relaxing, one-hour fall foliage tour for a group of senior citizens.

The suspensions followed the determination that The Ethan Allen carried only one crewmember, 74-year-old Capt. Richard Paris, according to Wendy Gibson, spokeswoman for the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

The Ethan Allen has a maximum capacity of 50 people — 48 passengers and two crew, Gibson said. Commercial boats in New York that carry between 21 and 48 passengers must have two crewmembers.

According to authorities, the captain of the boat told them the boat was hit by waves from at least one other vessel and turned over as he tried to steer out of them. CBS News' Michael Weber reports there were rumors of eyewitness reports that the wake of a larger tour boat caused the boat to capsize, but there was no immediate confirmation that another boat that could have kicked up waves was in the area.

Police said a wave from a passing boat and a sudden shift of passengers' weight on the boat's long benches may have factored into the capsizing. The investigation is ongoing.

"The bottom line is, any one of these little factors could not have upset the boat," said Warren County Sheriff Larry Cleveland. "If four or five of these came together, it's possible."

State officials originally suspended the certificates for two small boats similar to The Ethan Allen — The de Champlain and The Algonquin — but Gibson said they had expanded the suspension to include The Adirondac and The Horicon. Those larger cruise ships carry 400 and 200 guests, respectively, compared with the smaller boats that carry between 30 and 50 people.

Shoreline Cruises did not return messages left at its office Sunday and Monday.

Cleveland cautioned not to draw conclusions from the suspended certificates. "I do not believe there is any criminal culpability on any of the parties we have spoken with," he said.

The boat flipped so fast that none of the 47 passengers could put on a life jacket. People thrashed in the water, clung to the overturned boat and screamed "I can't swim!"

One woman trapped beneath the boat said she survived only after seeing daylight and swimming toward it. Forty-six passengers were from Michigan, with one from Ohio. Eight people were hospitalized with shortness of breath, broken bones and other injuries.

"I just never planned for this one," Robert Wrock, whose father, Francis, 87, died in the accident, told CBS News correspondent Trish Regan. "And if I was there, I would have saved him."

State Police Superintendent Wayne Bennett said passengers either slid or were thrown to one side of the boat after it began lurching. "And that, of course, would automatically mean an even bigger shift of weight," Bennett said.

The boat was rated for 50 passengers based on the Coast Guard standard of 150 pounds per person. Cleveland said that standard may have to be revised in light of data showing Americans growing fatter.

On Monday afternoon, crews using inflatable bags raised the sunken boat 70 feet to the surface. Orange life vests could be seen floating inside. National Transportation Safety Board investigators will examine the wreck once it's pumped out and towed to shore.

Only Colorado, Indiana and New Hampshire require adults to wear life preservers when a boat is motion, said Melissa Savage of the National Conference of State Legislatures. No state has special laws governing boaters who are elderly or infirm.

The Lake George Park Association and the sheriff's department are responsible for enforcing safety on the lake, and they may reconsider the rules governing crew size and life jacket use, particularly when elderly or infirm passengers are involved, said James Hood, a spokesman for the association.

"It seems like a logical question or at least something to review," Hood said.

The captain was not tested for drug or alcohol after the accident. The sheriff said he had no legal grounds for administering such a test. The sheriff also said Paris had a state license, rather than a Coast Guard one, which would have required a test for drugs or alcohol.

The boat was last inspected in May and no problems were found, officials said.