Freighter Was On Autopilot When It Hit U.S. Destroyer

The Washington Free Beacon ^ | June 23rd, 2017 | BY: Bill Gertz

[Mariner]

The deadly collision between a U.S. destroyer and a container ship June 17 took place while the freighter was on autopilot, according to Navy officials.

The Philippines-flagged cargo ship ACX Crystal was under control of a computerized navigation system that was steering and guiding the container vessel, according to officials familiar with preliminary results of an ongoing Navy investigation.

Investigators so far found no evidence the collision was deliberate.

[Bull Snipe]

“Ascribe not to malice, that which can adequately be explained by incompetence.” Napoleon.

[Reeses]

Constant bearing, decreasing range (CBDR) is a term in navigation which means that some object, usually another ship viewed from the deck or bridge of one’s own ship, is getting closer but maintaining the same relative bearing, which means it stays in the same spot relative to an object or a place on your field of vision as you move. If this continues, the objects will collide.

Piloting an aircraft is remarkably similar to piloting a watercraft. The CBDR principle also works vertically. When an aircraft is landing, the spot out the windshield that neither goes up nor down is the spot the aircraft will touch down. The trick works from very far out. When an aircraft is flying towards a mountain the aircraft will clear it if the peak is slowly moving down.

[Oztrich Boy]

I’d say carelessness resulting in accident

[Oztrich Boy]

I’d say carelessness resulting in accident