NTSB Advisory
National Transportation Safety Board
Washington, DC 20594
SECOND UPDATE ON NTSB INVESTIGATION OF
FIRE ABOARD THE CRUISE SHIP "ECSTASY"
September 4, 1998
The National Transportation Safety Board's investigation of the July
20 fire aboard the Carnival Cruise ship Ecstasy is continuing. This
advisory is an update on the Safety Board's press advisory of July 23.
What follows describes preliminary factual information developed by NTSB
investigators; no NTSB factual reports have been completed, no analysis
by the Board has been made about the significance of this information to
the cause of the accident, and no determination of probable cause has been
rendered.
Second Interviews of Welders
As reported in the July 23 advisory, two welders who were in the laundry room at the time the fire broke out told investigators that they had not yet begun welding. On August 13, a Safety Board investigator re-interviewed the welders, who said that although they had not yet begun welding, they had turned the equipment on in preparation for welding. One of the welders said he inadvertently allowed the welding electrode to come into contact with a ground clamp, causing it to arc. He then was alerted to a fire on the deck by the other welder. Both subsequently observed fire in exhaust ducting in the overhead of the laundry room.
Metallurgical analysis by Safety Board investigators detected evidence of electrical arcing on the grounding clamp of the welding equipment.
The welders' statements, the metallurgical analysis and other physical
evidence are being assembled and are under review by the NTSB staff.
Toxicology
Carnival Cruise Lines was notified by the U.S. Coast Guard at approximately
12:30 a.m., Tuesday, July 21 to conduct post accident toxicological screening
for drugs and alcohol on pertinent officers and crew. Technicians from
Toxicology Testing Service, Inc., of Miami, began blood specimen collections
for alcohol testing and urine specimen collections for drug testing aboard
the ship at approximately 4:30 a.m. on the 21st, according to
federal chain of custody documents. Results of the tests conducted on 79
officers and crew will be placed in the Board's public docket at a later
time, but preliminary results on the welders were negative for both alcohol
and drugs.
Passenger Surveys
The Survival Factors Group has mailed out surveys to 303 randomly selected
passengers who were aboard the Ecstasy at the time of the fire.
The survey questions passengers on their experiences during the emergency,
their opinions of the pre-departure emergency information they were given,
what difficulties if any they encountered in hearing emergency information
broadcast by the crew, observations of crew responses to the emergency,
and whether they had communications problems with the crew. So far, about
17 percent of the surveys have been returned.
Fire Group
According to the ship's log, the first fire alarm was sounded in the bridge at 5:10 p.m. The fire was brought under control shortly after 9:00 p.m.
Flammability tests are under consideration for some of the materials
involved in the fire, both in the duct work and on the aft mooring deck.
Future Activities
Factual reports are being prepared for the public docket, and staff
is considering what further tests/studies/testimony are required to complete
the factual record. Investigations generally take about a year before a
final report containing the Board's conclusions and probable cause is issued.
Safety recommendations may be issued at any time.
NTSB Media Contact: Ted Lopatkiewicz (202) 314-6100