staten island advance.

black boxes could boost ferry safety
new boats will carry data-recording devices that encourage crew to follow regulation.
10.20.2003

The high-tech data recording systems that will be deployed aboard three new Staten Island ferries beginning next year aren't designed to prevent collisions. But the state-of-the-art gear - which the 1980s-era Andrew J. Barberi lacked when it crashed in St. George last Wednesday, killing 10 people and injuring 72 - could become a significant factor in the effort to make operations safer.

"If a black-box recorder will encourage the crew to comply with safety regulations and ensure accountability, who wouldn't be for it?" asked Theo Dorian, founder and former chairman of the Ferry Riders Committee. His group recommends improvements based on information from riders.

Department of Transportation spokesman Tom Cocola confirmed yesterday that the new $40 million boats will be equipped with black-box systems like those used in airplanes. The electronic equipment will keep a record of engine speed, radio communication and conversations between the boat's crew.

The official declined comment on the lack of surveillance equipment on the Barberi, which was christened in 1981, and whether or not the boat could have been retro-fitted with such materials once the technology had become available.

Had the Barberi been outfitted with such a surveillance system, National Transportation Safety Board investigators probing last week's crash would have had an invaluable tool. But yesterday a NTSB spokesman said no progress had been made during the weekend in the federal investigation into the crash.

Neither Capt. Michael Gansas nor Asst. Capt. Richard Smith have been interviewed yet.

Only 12 people remain in Staten Island hospitals with injuries from the Barberi crash, six of whom are in critical condition, including Smith, who tried to kill himself in his Westerleigh home following the accident.

Five of the remaining six are classified as stable. Only Paul Esposito, a Meiers Corners resident who lost both legs after a metal pole destroyed them, has been upgraded to "fair" condition, which means all threat to his life has been removed.

Investigators are still looking into whether Smith's high blood pressure medication caused him to collapse at the ferry's controls.

The black boxes in the new ferries were not a response to the Barberi crash. They had been planned since the boats were designed, Cocola said.

"The last time we built boats was in the 1980s," Cocola said. "The technology has improved. People barely had VCRs back then."

The first new boat slated to carry commuters, the Guy V. Molinari, was christened in September and should cruise into New York Harbor in June and be ready for passenger service by next fall. The second boat is under construction in Wisconsin.

Dorian said safety improvements are long overdue.

"We have worked since our inception on trying to get safety protocols enforced and we have tried to impress upon the city that safety is a key concern for ferry riders, but we have not had very much response," Dorian said.

"The ferry has been the safest form of mass transit in New York City for the past 100 years, so getting the city to enforce protocols has been a frustrating experience," he said.