A towboat pilot’s use of his personal cell phone and extreme fatigue were key factors in a costly barge collision on the lower Mississippi River last year, federal investigators concluded in a report released Thursday.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found that the pilot of the 8,000-hp towing vessel William B Klunk was distracted by personal phone use in the moments leading up to the April 17, 2024, incident near Baton Rouge, La. The 170’x48′ vessel, operated by American Commercial Barge Line, Jeffersonville, Ind., was pushing 22 loaded hopper barges when it collided with moored barges in a fleeting area, causing 16 barges to break free and resulting in over $800,000 in damage.
In the six minutes before the crash, the pilot failed to adjust the rudder or throttle, according to investigators. Footage from the onboard image recorder showed the pilot using his personal phone and not monitoring the tow’s position just 40 seconds before the impact…