Authorities say a second body has been pulled from New York's Hudson River

[Westchester 49]

Meanwhile the Coast Guard completed their investigation into the barges and said they had adequate lighting. All lighting on the barges were up to standard. The company who owns the barges have stated they will add more lighting to the barges.

I'm with some of you who say let law enforcement do their thing before we jump to conclusions. The story has already taken many twists and turns.

You and others are right. We all have to wait for final investigation. But in the meantime we can oly go by what witness said and some first responders. As I stated from the beginning I was commenting on the professionalizm by the Volunteer Responders on this horrible accident. Yes I have my theories, but I believe you was ever I that water that night and nights that followed all have theroies on what happened. The important thing is that it never happens again.

[Bnechis 3,961]

The important thing is that it never happens again.

But it will.

Small boats running into "stationary" objects particularly at night is not uncommon.

Factors (in general, thatmay or may not be specific to this case) include:

• Operator lack of experience, training
• Operator overconfidence in his/her abilities
• Speed
• Alcohol, drugs
• Lack of visability / plus lack of radar (depth perception on the water at night is very difficult)
• Lack of local knowledge (moring areas, marked & unmarked hazards to navigation, etc.)

While in this case the operator may not have "seen" the barge, he should have been very aware of its existance as it has been there for a long time. It was there when he went in and it was attached to a barge moring bouy.

[gpdexplorer 46]

I believe Helicopper said that WCPD is not equipped for Hoist and Air/Sea rescue operations.

Rockland's helicopter is listed as "Long Term Out of Service" on the Rockland County Online CAD System

The only other agency around here that has air rescue capability is the New York State Police, and I'm not sure if they are 24/7 or what

Hoist and Air/Sea rescue or not, any aerial support, particularly during night time operations, is a big help. I would imagine, maybe Helicopper can shed some light on this, that the WCPD airship has FLIR. NYSP and NYPD Aviation were on scene for the initial night time search.

[PEMO3 523]

I personally feel that we are trying the case based on hear say and assumptions. We have read and heard that they had 4 drinks among all 6, they had multiple drinks, they were all drunk, they were all sober, there were enough light, there were not enough lights, it met the USCG standards, the standards are too low, he should have known the barge was there, and so on. These are all fine but only those 6 people on the boat that night know the truth. We as trained professionals should know better than to draw conclusions based on assumptions and innuendos. To assume that he saw the barge when he moored his boat is to assume we know the last time he was on the river. To assume any of the BACs is to assume we know the results when they have yet to be returned. The only item that does stand out loudly to me is that the groom and the father of the deceased bride are rising to the defense of the operator which makes me wonder if this story has begun to take on a life of it own and we are being to quick to condemn and judge. Remember we are a country built on innocent until proven guilty even though in the media to opposite seems to appear to be the case. By the way I am in no way defending or condemning the operator, I am simply advocating sitting back and awaiting the fact, not the hear say and rumors.

On a separate note, KUDOS to the units involved in this job. While and S&R operation is difficult having it coupled with the emotional aspect of locating a bride to be and giving a family closure just weeks before her wedding in itself takes it toll. Once again, great job by all involved.

[Westchester 49]

I personally feel that we are trying the case based on hear say and assumptions. We have read and heard that they had 4 drinks among all 6, they had multiple drinks, they were all drunk, they were all sober, there were enough light, there were not enough lights, it met the USCG standards, the standards are too low, he should have known the barge was there, and so on. These are all fine but only those 6 people on the boat that night know the truth. We as trained professionals should know better than to draw conclusions based on assumptions and innuendos. To assume that he saw the barge when he moored his boat is to assume we know the last time he was on the river. To assume any of the BACs is to assume we know the results when they have yet to be returned. The only item that does stand out loudly to me is that the groom and the father of the deceased bride are rising to the defense of the operator which makes me wonder if this story has begun to take on a life of it own and we are being to quick to condemn and judge. Remember we are a country built on innocent until proven guilty even though in the media to opposite seems to appear to be the case. By the way I am in no way defending or condemning the operator, I am simply advocating sitting back and awaiting the fact, not the hear say and rumors.

On a separate note, KUDOS to the units involved in this job. While and S&R operation is difficult having it coupled with the emotional aspect of locating a bride to be and giving a family closure just weeks before her wedding in itself takes it toll. Once again, great job by all involved.

Bravo. You are so correct with your statement. But as all Responders in this form we like to use or thinking caps and try to use the knowledge we were trained with and just debate the circumstances and the investigation. All members of the Emergency Services will want to know the full investigation outcome and how they concluded it. I feel it would be good info for Dive Resuce, and Search Teams for future accidents. The one thing that makes me think is why did police charge Jojo John with serious charges so quick without bloodtest results. I to am not defending drunk driving, but when will the results be back. And yes there are lights on the corners of the barges, maybe they should install ligths on the side for boats that have a difficult time seeing them if there high, also the barges move around with the tide they are not completly fixed. So what you see one hour may not be in the same exact location the next.

[JM15 386]

“Our conversations with some of the survivors of this accident, including Brian Bond, make two things quite clear: the passengers on the boat—all mature, respected professionals in their thirties—had consumed very little alcohol and considered themselves sober,” the letter reads.

“None of them saw the barge,” the parents add. “They did not brace for impact and could not identify what they had hit—even after impact—as they desperately worked to direct the first responders coming to their aid

Excerpt from the Nyack-Piermont Patch article today... full article can be found at http://nyack.patch.com/groups/police-and-fire/p/grieving-families-none-of-them-saw-the-barge-parents-ask-for-publics-help

[JM15 386]

CBS New York is reporting that the Rockland County District Attorney's office has cell phone video of the moments before impact from the boat.

[JetPhoto 626]

Good job everyone!

http://youtu.be/C-pxGYnM9zI

[PEMO3 523]

Just another case being tried by/in the media.

[res6cue 67]

Just wondering where were the Westchester and Rockland helicopters? Why did NYC have to come up to the TZB again?

Was it really a seamless integrated response or was it the usual Rockland command, Westchester Command, everyone does their own thing on the water response?

Rockland's helicopter has been OOS since last summer. It's undergoing a major overhaul, updates, etc.

As far as Westchester's helicopter, I have no idea why they were unable to respond. They were requested by 44-Control, that much is certain. Not the first time they've been requested by Rockland and have been unable to answer the bell. It'll be nice when Rockland's helicopter is back in service so the county doesn't have to totally rely on outside agencies for air support.

NYPD Air-Sea Rescue responded along with NYSP 1H17 (i.e. Lifeguard 17) out of Newburgh.

[Dinosaur 844]

Rockland's helicopter has been OOS since last summer. It's undergoing a major overhaul, updates, etc.

As far as Westchester's helicopter, I have no idea why they were unable to respond. They were requested by 44-Control, that much is certain. Not the first time they've been requested by Rockland and have been unable to answer the bell. It'll be nice when Rockland's helicopter is back in service so the county doesn't have to totally rely on outside agencies for air support.

NYPD Air-Sea Rescue responded along with NYSP 1H17 (i.e. Lifeguard 17) out of Newburgh.

A buddy of mine at the county says that they couldn't fly because all the pilots have been reassigned to patrol for the summer to reduce overtime. He also said overtime is out of control so it ain't working.

Way to go Westchester, ground your chopper during the busiest time of the year so you can claim to be saving money. Smart move! Remember this stupidity on election day.

[peterose313 345]

A buddy of mine at the county says that they couldn't fly because all the pilots have been reassigned to patrol for the summer to reduce overtime. He also said overtime is out of control so it ain't working.

Way to go Westchester, ground your chopper during the busiest time of the year so you can claim to be saving money. Smart move! Remember this stupidity on election day.

WCPD Aviation missed out on the ice rescue in Somers during the winter because it fell on the 1 day of the week they don't fly due to budget cuts or something along those lines too.

[res6cue 67]

So...they buy this brand new, multi-million dollar piece of sophisticated equipment just a handful of years ago, then ground it because they don't want to pay the pilots to fly it? Brilliant.