M/V Delta Mariner takes out Kentucky Lake Bridge

[Swampfox]

Ship that is contracted to NASA carrying booster rocket parts strikes bridge.

http://www.newschannel5.com/story/16...rtial-collapse

[cappy208]

Surely lucky no one was injured, either afloat or ashore. Pretty amazing the driver on the bridge was able to see it and stop in time in pouring rain.

[rshrew]

Surely lucky no one was injured, either afloat or ashore. Pretty amazing the driver on the bridge was able to see it and stop in time in pouring rain.

That guy should be buying some lotto tickets for sure!

[SaltySailor]

Any info on the how & why in this incident?

[Swampfox]

Supposedly the river was higher than usual, but you'd think the wheelhouse would be keeping up with current river levels, etc.

[Tachibana]

How do you understand the meaning of "down" in following sentence:

The versatile vessel is designed to navigate shallow inland waterways as well as the open ocean, and generally hauls rocket components approximately 550 miles from the Boeing factory in Decatur, Alabama down the Tennessee-Tombigbee waterway to the Gulf of Mexico
http://gcaptain.com/cargo-ship-strik...-bridge/?38419

Does "down" mean northwards or southwards, upstream or downstream ?

[rshrew]

Down would be southwards towards the gulf of Mexico, down river.

[Tachibana]

The collapsed bridge is North from Decatur, isn't it?

[cappy208]

Does "down" mean northwards or southwards, upstream or downstream ?

Down means down stream. However, it also references traveling 'down' the river. sometimes that means going up, down, east, west, south or north, depending on the meandering river. You are correct that the bridge is north of Decatur. The Boeing Facility is on the north side of Decatur, on the Wilson Lake. thus the transit starts in the Wilson lake. it travels 'down' the Lake in a westerly direction, If they were coming from somewhere else they either turn south to tenn tomm, or north into Kentucky Lake.. In all respects the rivers flow Down river, thus the down reference. Got it? I wonder if they travel to other places along the river system, to get other parts and the voyage was 'mis' quoted. either for security reasons of just mis reported. Maybe this trip they were either coming or going ( haven't been able to figure out which way they were going this time) all the way around thru the Tennessee to the Miss? And skipping the Tenn Tomm altogether. The mentioned high water may have them detoured versus their regular route too.
http://business.tenntom.org/wp-conte...rway-ports.pdf- Here is a picture of the nearby waterway system. the bridge is at the number 15 and the boeing facility is around number 21.

[cappy208]

Found some interesting pics. Thanks AR15.com

KL chart.jpgKL chart.jpg
This is the USACE river chart. shows the channel in either of the two center spans. I'd say someone goofed.

deltamariner at work.jpg
Didn't the initial report say it had 'airplane parts" on it? Do these fit on a Cessna?

eggner bridge done right.jpg

what it is supposed to look like. (and WHERE)

eggner bridge side view crash.jpg

From a different perspective, maybe he wasn't where he was supposed to be, ya think?

What was Maxwell Q Smarts' byline... I was Thisssssss close!

[Tachibana]

http://business.tenntom.org/wp-conte...rway-ports.pdf- Here is a picture of the nearby waterway system. the bridge is at the number 15 and the boeing facility is around number 21.

It is a good picture. Thanks.

[cappy208]

One comment I saw on the other forum was: "See.... This is what happens when the Ship hits the Span."

So I had to steal it for this one!