A new, 20 seat airboat was destroyed in a freak accident, on the Tum-Emosak river, killing all on board.
The airboat, especially brought in to reduce the long queues of passengers waiting to experience the thrill of a ride over the rapids on Sanganara's longest river, was only recently shipped to the tourist center, where it successfully completed its safety trials a week ago.
As our agency reporter, Gobbi, wrote in his recent report - (Click to Read) - the Tum-Emosak rapids are a magnet to adventure and thrill seekers from across the galaxy. As it negotiates the rapids, the airboat is wholly reliant on the circular blast of air, issuing from the vents around the circumference of the hull, to cushion it as it lands on the water below. The craft's attitude is vital for a controlled drop and landing, and it seems that a potential lack of 'attitude control' was the fatal flaw in the larger vessel's design.
Simply put, the power needed to first raise the craft, then accelerate it to 'launch' speed, and to finally bring it down in a swift, but controlled, fall to the river below, was significantly greater than that provided by the single compressor in the boat Gobbi used. The designers' answer was to install a second compressor, in a line astern configuration with the first.
During the safety tests, it was discovered that the two compressors occasionally produced different outputs, causing the airboat to lift at the bow, or stern, according to how the two throttles were set. This was not a problem to the flight engineering team who were on board during the safety test. It would, however, have been a problem to the tourist guides hastily trained to run the new service. As a 'workaround', and to prevent an embarrassing and costly delay, the engineers decided to install a throttle 'interconnect' mechanism, to better synchronize the power output of the two compressors. The initial finding of the accident investigators is that this field modification - which was not sanctioned by the manufacturer - most likely failed. This is borne out by eyewitness reports that the doomed craft could be seen heading for the rapids with the stern a good foot or more higher than the bow.
As the airboat took off, the unbalanced engines would have caused it to pitch forward. As it landed on the river below, instead of a heavy, but cushioned, impact, it was observed to enter nose first. The bow was shattered by the river bottom, the boat broke up, and the passengers were thrown into the fast running water. Vicious undertows pulled the helpless victims below, finally spewing their lifeless bodies onto the riverbank, three miles further downstream. There were no survivors!
The airboat 'attraction' has once more resorted to using the six, single compressor craft, previously in service. Although the queues are as long as before, if not longer - mainly because of the perceived, heightened danger of the ride - the organizers have no plans to try to re-introduce the larger airboats in the foreseeable future.
Two members of the engineering team, Filo Mazurro and Gant Nubar, were arrested by the Sanganaran authorities and charged with 'reckless endangerment', shortly after the accident occured. Now the cause of the tragedy is known, it is likely this charge will be changed to one of 'unlawful killing'. Because the trial cannot begin until the relatives of the victims have observed a three month period of mourning, the date of the preliminary judicial hearing has been set sometime next year.
