NTSB TO RELEASE FACTUAL REPORTS ON M/V CROWN PRINCESS CRUISE SHIP ACCIDENT

[NTSB Press Releases <NTSBPressReleases@xxxxxxxx>]

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                       NTSB ADVISORY
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National Transportation Safety Board
Washington, DC 20594

December 12, 2007

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NTSB TO RELEASE FACTUAL REPORTS ON M/V CROWN PRINCESS CRUISE 
SHIP ACCIDENT




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        As part of its continuing investigation into a heeling 
accident involving the M/V Crown Princess, in the Atlantic 
Ocean off Port Canaveral, the National Transportation Safety 
Board will open a public docket and release a factual report 
on Friday, December 14, 2007, at 11:00 am.

        On July 18, 2006, about 3:25 p.m., the Bermuda-
registered cruise ship M/V Crown Princess, operated by 
Princess Cruises, experienced a severe roll during a turn.  
The cruise ship had departed Port Canaveral, Florida, for 
Brooklyn, New York, on the last leg of a 10-day round-trip 
voyage to the Caribbean. When a display on an instrument panel 
showed a high rate of turn to port, the second officer 
disengaged the autopilot and took manual control of the 
vessel's steering system. The vessel was traveling at nearly 
full speed, about 20 knots, at this time.  He turned the wheel 
to port and then to starboard and back several times, 
eventually causing the vessel to heel sharply to starboard. 
The sudden roll caused people to be thrown about or struck by 
unsecured objects, resulting in 14 serious and 284 minor 
injuries to passengers and crewmembers. The vessel incurred no 
damage to its structure, although unsecured interior 
components, cabinets, and their contents were damaged.

        The information being released is factual in nature 
and does not provide any analysis. It will include 
investigative group factual reports, interview transcripts, 
transcripts of recorded conversations on the vessel's 
bridge, maintenance records, and other documents from the 
investigation. Additional material will be added to the 
docket as it becomes available. Analysis of the accident, 
along with conclusions and a determination of probable 
cause, will come at a later date when the final report on 
the investigation is completed.

        For news media representatives, a CD-ROM containing 
the docket material will be available from the Office of 
Public Affairs, NTSB Headquarters (6th floor), 490 L'Enfant 
Plaza, S.W., Washington, D.C. beginning at 11:00 a.m., 
Friday, December 14, 2007. Docket material also can be 
obtained from the NTSB's Public Inquiries Branch by calling 
(202) 314- 6551, or from General Microfilm, Inc., (304) 267-
5830.

        This will be a document release only; no interviews 
will be conducted.

                            -30-

Media Contact:  Keith Holloway, 202-314-6100



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