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NTSB: Duck boat in Seattle crash didn’t have recommended fix

Seattle Police officers photograph the front tire and wheel of a "Ride the Ducks" tourist vehicle before the bus is loaded onto a flatbed tow truck Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015, after it was involved in a fatal crash with a charter passenger bus earlier in the day in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Seattle Police officers photograph the front tire and wheel of a "Ride the Ducks" tourist vehicle before the bus is loaded onto a flatbed tow truck Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015, after it was involved in a fatal crash with a charter passenger bus earlier in the day in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren) Seattle Police officers photograph the front tire and wheel of a "Ride the Ducks" tourist vehicle before the bus is loaded onto a flatbed tow truck Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015, after it was involved in a fatal crash with a charter passenger bus earlier in the day in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

By Associated Press 1 min read

SEATTLE (AP) – The National Transportation Safety Board says a duck boat involved in a fatal Seattle crash didn’t have an axle repair that was recommended for the amphibious vehicle in 2013.

NTSB member Earl Weener (WAY’-nur) said Sunday that investigators only recently learned that Ride the Ducks International issued a warning about potential axle failure and recommended a specific repair. But Weener says the boat involved in Seattle crash didn’t have the fix.

Weener says it’s unclear if the company that owns the vehicle – Ride the Ducks of Seattle – was aware of the warning.

Ride the Ducks International refurbished the duck boat in 2005.

The crash last week between that vehicle and a charter bus left four international college students dead.

Investigator said Saturday that the left front axle of the duck boat was sheared off, but they hadn’t determined if that damage happened before the collision or during it.