why did the pilots not steer the ship center span of the bridge?
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Because there was no electrical power to turn the rudder. Steering is not mechanical like on Tupperware.
The ship must have lost steerage way back from the bridge, no emergency tugs?
In the final minute before the collision the ships engines were full astern,and IMHO, that actually turned the ship into the pier.The full astern should likely have been done a half mile back from the bridge, maybe they would have had enough time to call a tug m or a fire vessel t nudge her away.
Those poor people on the bridge, the whole double span fell in less than a second.
Thank you for your insight.