NTSB gives first update on Brooklyn Bridge ship crash

David Hunter
8 Min Read
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The National Transportation Board Great your first update in your investigation of the Mexican Navy ship that crashed into the Brooklyn bridge On the weekend.

The NTSB is still waiting for the Mexican government’s permission to obtain access to Cuauhtémoc, which remains docked on dock 36 after the fatal collision.

Timeline of the boat movements before the collision of the Brooklyn bridge

Federal Transportation Security researchers He will be investigating whether Wind and Tide played roles when the masts of Cuauhtémoc, a 300 -feet training ship, collided with the Brooklyn bridge.

The researchers said the ship left the Pier 17 with a tugboat and increased its speed just before the accident on Saturday.

“We will see the engine status, we will analyze any failures, we will look for engine inspections and talk to the crew about what may have happened with the engine,” said Brian Young, a marine accident researcher at the NTSB. “We are going to access all the different electronic data to determine at what extent the container is accelerating.”

Brooklyn Bridge of the Mexican Navy Navy

The damaged masts of Cuauhtémoc, a training ship of the Mexican Navy that crashed into the Brooklyn bridge, are seen while in Pier 36 in the Lower Manhattan on May 18, 2025 in New York City. The ship, which broke the three masts when colliding with the historical bridge of New York City, killed at least two people and the wounded boxes of others.

Spencer Platt/Getty Images


The authorities provide a timeline of the incident, which they said when the ship moved away from a spring to navigate the East River.

  • 8:20 pm – The ship goes back with the help of a tugboat
  • 8:24 PM – There was a request for assistance from other tugs
  • 8:24 PM – 45 seconds later, the ship hit the Brooklyn bridge
  • 8:27 pm – The ship stopped
  • 8:30 pm – FDNY and NYPD assets were on stage

The NTSB Board member, Michael Graham, said a preliminary report would be available in approximately 30 days.

“This is the beginning of a long process. We will not get any conclusion. We will not speculate. Nor will we determine the probable cause while we are on stage,” said Graham. “We are here to gather perishable evidence, and that is what we will do all the time we will do it on the scene. And that will take as many days as necessary.”

The NTSB asked the public members to send an email to witness@ntsb.gov if they have a video of the collision, but did not send the file until they respond.

The Brooklyn bridge has been considered structurally safe.

Victims identified in Brooklyn Bridge Ship Crash

The authorities said that 277 people were aboard the Cuauhtémoc when the duration of a ceremonial exit to Iceland crashed. The video showed that the three masts broke when they arrived at the bridge and some crew members hanging from harnesses and holding the cables.

A total of 22 crew members were injured, including two who died and two who remain hospitalized in New York. Most crew is back in Mexico.

The Mexican authorities identified the victims as the 20 -year -old cadet America Yamilet Sánchez and Adal Jair Maldonado Marcos. The mourners have a leg that goes out and candles on pier 36 to present their respects.

Us-Mexico Outciled

The training ship of the Mexican Navy that hit the Brooklyn bridge is tied in low Manhattan as seen from Brooklyn on May 18, 2025. Two people died and another 19 were injured after a training ship of the Mexican Navy arrived at the Brooklyn bridge, New York. New York.

Leonardo Muñoz/AFP through Getty Images


Sánchez’s family members spoke on Sunday as they cried their loss. His aunt questioned why the Mexican Navy has not done more to take the family to New York to recover his body. Another relative called videos of the illogical accident and said that it should not have happened.

Maritime experts said that it is sometimes customary for sailors to form in formation in the ship’s courtyards when they leave a port, which is what is believed to be happening in the Cuauhtémoc. But they said there are some questions that must be answered.

“Are anchors ready to be loose? That is one thing. If the engine continued to be stern, is there a procedure to close the engine? In most ships, there are,” said Captain James Staples, a maritime expert who is not involved in the accident.

DHS says that Schumer should “clarify his facts”

The United States National Security Department has responded to the concerns of the Chuck Schumer Senate minority leader about themselves Government efficiency department cutsOr doge, a factor in the incident can have one leg. The DHS said that in a publication on social networks the questions of the senator of a hiring freezing and inappropriate staff are “false.”

“The United States Coast Guard has been fully supported and is exempt from hiring freezing. In addition, this incident had nothing to do with boat traffic services: when a ship loses the propulsion in a current area of ​​tall today, the ship needs Arbilitionie” reads Bedtabilities. “We encourage the leader of the Schumer minority to clarify their facts before they deceive the American people.”

During his Wegly press pin, Schumer explained that the Coast Guard has a system called Vehicle Traffic Service, or VTS, which is similar to FAA air traffic control.

“There are indications that the service called VTS may not have a full or adequate leg in the light of that hiring freze. We do not know the answer to that question. We need answers. If it was an attention of bush and bridge cases,” he said.

Schumer said Admiral Linda Fagan was relieved of her duties as commander of the Coast Guard on January 21.

“In addition, the current freezing of hiring in the Department of National Security, DHS, of which it is part of the Coast Guard, may have limited the capacity of the Coast Guard for personnel in the VTS, the vehicle traffic service, the system of the entire coast that provides a contribution air traffic control for the seas, especially in congested areas and restricted restrictions as the New York port,” he said.

The United States Coast Guard issued a statement on Sunday by saying that the VTS “was fully functional during the incident, operating in accordance with the procedures established to administer commercial traffic and facilitate safe navigation. Our response included the launch of a crew from Station New York, establishing a temporary security zone and coordinating with NYPD, FDNY and NYC DOT.”

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