KANSAS CITY, Mo._Moment-by-moment video that recorded the activities on board the duck boat that killed 17 people when it sank near Branson on July 19 clearly shows the boat entering Missouri's Table Rock Lake when the water was calm.
A timeline of the video, released in a Twitter feed Friday by the National Transportation Safety Board, also suggests that the boat entered the water 20 minutes after the National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for the area at 6:32 p.m.
The video is not complete, shutting down before the vessel, known as Duck Stretch Boat 7, sank in 80 feet of water. It also indicates a sudden flurry of activity as the storm, that would create winds as high as 72 miles per hour and 4-foot swells, battered the vehicle.
In a matter of seven minutes, the captain would go from giving rides to children in the captain's chair to steering a boat through white caps crashing across the bow of the boat. He would make at least two radio calls. The alarm for the bilge pump would sound twice, meaning water was being pumped from the vessel.
The video was taken from a memory card and removable hard drive retrieved from the boat's on-board video recorder by divers prior to the vehicle being salvaged. The boat was raised from Table Rock Lake on Monday. The media were transferred to an NTSB laboratory in Washington, D.C.
The NTSB released the following timeline:
6:27 p.m. The captain and driver boarded the previously empty vehicle. The driver sat in the driver's seat and the captain sat in the side-facing seat to the right of the driver. (The captain operates the duck on water and the driver operates duck on the road.)
6:28 p.m. The crew was told to take the water portion of the tour first, by an individual who briefly stepped onto the rear of the vehicle.
6:29 p.m. As the passengers were loading, the captain made a verbal reference to looking at the weather radar before the trip.
6:33 pm. The driver stated a passenger count of 29 and shortly after, the vehicle departed the terminal facility. The captain narrated the tour while the vehicle was in motion.
6:50 p.m. In the vicinity of the boat ramp, the captain began a safety briefing regarding the water portion of the tour. The briefing included the location of emergency exits as well as the location of the life jackets. The captain then demonstrated the use of a life jacket and pointed out the location of the life rings. The captain moved into the driver's seat and the driver moved into the seat directly behind.
6:55 p.m. The captain announced to the passengers that they would be entering the water. The boat entered the water. The water appeared calm at this time.
Between 6:56 and 7 p.m. The captain allowed four different children to sit in the driver's seat, while he observed and assisted.
7 p.m. and 25 seconds. Whitecaps rapidly appeared on the water and winds increased.
7 p.m. and 42 seconds. The captain returned to the driver's seat. The driver lowered the port and starboard clear plastic side curtains.
7:01 p.m. The captain made a comment about the storm.
7:03 p.m. and 15 seconds. The captain made a hand-held radio call, the content of which is currently unintelligible.
7:04 p.m. and 15 seconds. An electronic tone associated with the bilge alarm activated.
7:05 p.m. and 21 seconds. The captain reached downward with his right hand and the bilge alarm ceases.
7:05 p.m. and 40 seconds. The captain made a hand-held radio call, the content of which is currently unintelligible.
In the final minutes of the recording: Water occasionally splashes inside the vehicle's passenger compartment. (The low frame rate and relatively low resolution make it very difficult to be more precise in the preliminary review.)
7:07 p.m. and 26 seconds. An electronic tone associated with the bilge alarm activated.
7:08 p.m. and 27 seconds. The inward facing recording ended, while the vehicle was still on the surface of the water.
The NTSB is not drawing any conclusions from the video as of yet. Its investigation continues. Those involved include the U.S. Coast Guard, Missouri State Police Highway Patrol, Ride the Ducks, city of Branson and the National Weather Service.
