"Human factors" caused sinking of B.C. ferry that killed 2

VICTORIA, British Columbia — A key crewmember on a ferry that sank off the coast of British Columbia didn't know the ship was headed for a crash until she saw trees looming ahead, authorities say.

In a long-awaited report probing last year's fatal ferry crash, B.C. Ferries officials said Monday that "human factors were the primary cause of the sinking of the Queen of the North," The Canadian Press reported.

The 457-foot-long ferry was carrying 101 passengers and crew members when it hit rocks at Gil Island in Wright Sound, near Prince Rupert on the northern B.C. coast, and sank in March 2006. Two passengers were never found and were presumed dead.

The report concludes in part that the ferry's fourth officer "failed to make a necessary course alteration or verify such alteration was made." Investigators also said the navigational watch didn't maintain a "proper lookout."

Quartermaster Karen Bricker told investigators she didn't know where the Queen of the North was when she assumed the job of lookout on the night of the crash.

When the fourth officer, Karl Lilgert, loudly ordered Bricker to make a 109-degree course change, she questioned it — and then saw the trees of Gil Island ahead.

Bricker also told investigators she didn't know where the switch to disengage the autopilot was located, but B.C. Ferries officials were skeptical about that claim.

"As the autopilot disengages simply with a single switch and would have been operated numerous times by the quartermaster, this testimony is difficult to reconcile," the report said.

The rocks ripped a gash in the ferry's hull, sending the ship to the bottom of Wright Sound in just over an hour. Residents of nearby Hartley Bay rushed to help rescue the crew and passengers.

Bricker and Lilgert were not identified in the report, but separate court documents filed by passengers suing B.C. Ferries have identified them as the quartermaster and fourth officer that night.

Investigators said the crew reacted well when evacuating passengers. But the efforts were hampered because there were different keys for the sleeping cabins and no way to mark which cabins were empty.

The inquiry panel that released the report said it was unable to establish what happened to the two people lost with the ship. B.C. Ferries CEO David Hahn said those answers may never be known, even after the Transportation Safety Board issues its report sometime in the next three to six months.

The current report makes 31 recommendations for equipment, emergency and evacuation procedures. The company said some of those changes already have been made.