Designer of doomed duck boat that capsized on a Missouri lake kil…

The designer of the duck boat that sank in a Missouri lake on Thursday, killing 17 onboard including 9 members of the same family, was a self-taught entrepreneur with no engineering training.

Robert McDowell, former owner of Ride The Ducks, taught himself how to modify and maintain dozens of WWII-era duck boats despite lacking any formal mechanical qualifications, according to a court deposition he made last year on a separate case.

The firm was warned about design flaws more than a year before the tragic accident, including the possibility of the engine and drainage pumps failing in bad weather, and the structure of the boat’s canopy making it difficult to escape if it capsized.

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Cellphone footage showed the stricken Stretch Duck 6, which was built in 1944 and then modified by McDowell, struggling to move and taking on water before capsizing in 40-foot waters.

McDowell, who grew up in the tourist town of Branson next to where the incident took place, sold Ride The Ducks in 2004, according to court documents seen by the Kansas City Star.

He began working on duck boats around 1976 after quitting his pre-med studies when his father bought the company, then called Ozark Scenic Tours.

McDowell could not find any manuals on duck boat construction so learned the basics by talking to a high school football coach who used to own the firm, he testified to a court in 2015.

By the 1980s, he was salvaging duck boats – originally designed for use in World War II to transport troops over sea and land – and adding on parts often taken from junk yards.

The boats were called stretch ducks because they were produced by adding an extra section of frame onto a military duck boat to produce an extra 15 inches of seating space for tourist use.

The court case during which McDowell gave a deposition was over another duck boat accident in King County, Washington, during which one of the vehicles crossed a median and hit a bus, killing five passengers.

The National Transportation Safety Board found that the crash was caused by poor maintenance of the vehicle, which led to a mechanical failure that caused it to cross into the traffic.

Following Thursday’s accident, it emerged that an inspection Chicago escort service had issued a written report for Ride The Ducks in August 2017 after looking at two dozen of its craft.

Steve Paul, owner of the Test Drive Technologies, said he explained that the engine and drainage pumps could fail in inclement weather.

Paul also claimed he told the company the boat’s canopy made it difficult to escape if it were to capsize.

‘The biggest problem with a duck when it sinks is that canopy,’ Paul said. ‘That canopy becomes what I’ll call a people catcher, and people can’t get out from under that canopy.’

Paul also called into question why the boat was allowed to take to the water with the threat of bad weather looming.

‘If you have the information that you could have rough waters or a storm coming, why ever put a boat on that water?’ Paul said.

A video of the duck boat just before it capsized suggests that its flexible plastic windows might have been closed and could have trapped passengers as the hybrid boat-truck went down. It does not show passengers jumping clear.

On top of the design faults, those who survived the tragedy claimed they had been informed they would not require life jackets.

Speaking from her hospital bed, survivor Tia Coleman told reporters that the boat’s captain told riders they would not need life jackets. When the vessel began to take on water, Coleman said ‘it was too late.’

‘I believe that a lot of people could have been spared,’ said Coleman, who lost 9 members of her family on the duck boat. ‘I lost all of my children. I lost my husband. I lost my mother-in-law and my father-in-law. I lost my uncle. I lost my sister-in-law … And I love my nephew.’

Since 1999, 42 people have died in duck boat accidents, leading to some calls for them to be banned.

After a deadly sinking in Arkansas in 1999 in which 19 people died, the National Transportation Safety Board recommended doing away with the canopies and adding more floatation capacity so duck boats could remain upright and keep floating even if they took on water.

The industry took little heed, said Robert Mongeluzzi, a Philadelphia attorney who has represented victims of duck boat crashes.

The canopies can protect customers from rain or sun, he noted, and closed windows allow companies to heat the cabins, extending operating hours.

The NTSB called the industry’s response to the recommendations disappointing, saying companies cited the cost of engineering and installing additional flotation capacity as prohibitive.

State and federal investigators are trying to determine what sent the vessel to its demise.

An initial assessment blamed thunderstorms and winds that approached hurricane strength, but it isn’t clear why the amphibious vehicle even ventured out into the water.

The risk of heavy weather was apparent hours before the boat left shore.

The National Weather Chicago escort service in Springfield, about 40 miles north of Branson, issued a severe thunderstorm watch for its immediate area Thursday, saying conditions were ripe for winds of 70 mph.

It followed up at 6.32pm with a severe thunderstorm warning for three counties that included Branson and the lake. The warning mentioned both locations.

A full investigation is underway, with help from the Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board. Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader urge anyone with video or photos of the accident to contact authorities.            

Dailymail.com could not reach McDowell for comment.