Ferries won't run in East River due to crashed Mexican ship repairs
BROOKLYN, N.Y. (PIX11) – The East River will be shut down to all marine traffic, including ferries, on Friday to make repairs to the Mexican Navy ship that crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge three weeks ago.
The Cuauhtémoc is headed to the Brooklyn Navy Yard as part of a multi-agency effort to move the vessel. The 300-foot-long ship, with 277 sailors on board, careened into the bridge after taking off from a dock on May 17.
More Local News
Two sailors, ages 20 and 23, were killed and 19 others were injured, according to authorities. Three of the ship's masts snapped.
The National Transportation Safety Board said the ship initially sped up in the five minutes it took for it to strike the bridge after pushing off from shore with the help of a tugboat.
More: Latest News from Around the Tri-State
The agency is expected to reveal more findings within the week after inspecting the vessel's engine, recovering any data recorders and speaking with crew members.
The ship left Acapulco, Mexico on April 6 for a goodwill tour that was meant to continue to Iceland.
Erin Pflaumer is a digital content producer from Long Island who has covered both local and national news since 2018. She joined PIX11 in 2023. See more of her work here.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
After an American Airlines plane caught fire, the National Transportation Safety Board finds engine parts installed backward
On March 13, an American Airlines flight was diverted from its destination after the flight crew reported engine vibrations, and its engine caught fire once it landed. The National Transportation Safety Board said in a report this week the engine leaked fuel because of loose and improperly installed parts. Despite numerous reported aviation safety incidents, air travel is safer than it was decades ago, experts say. An American Airlines engine that burst into flames after its aircraft was diverted in March was found to have fuel leaks and improperly installed parts, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a report released Thursday. The NTSB identified a damaged fan blade on the right side of the two-engine jet, as well as a loose airflow control component that was installed backward and a loose rod end that caused fuel to leak from the fitting. The report did not give a reason for the fire, as the NTSB has not yet finished its investigation on the incident. The purpose of the document is to find the root cause of the incident, not assign blame for it. On March 13, Flight 1006 en route from the Colorado Springs Airport to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport diverted to Denver International Airport after the flight crew reported engine vibrations. The Boeing 737-823 aircraft caught fire while taxiing to the gate, incurring 'substantial damage,' according to the report. 'They thought they had what we would call the degraded engine,' Cary Grant, an associate professor of aeronautical science at Embry‑Riddle Aeronautical University, told Fortune. 'It wasn't performing. It wasn't a failed engine, but it wasn't providing all the thrust and capability that it could produce.' The jet was carrying two flight crew members, four cabin crew members, and 172 passengers, 12 of whom were hospitalized for minor injuries. According to the report, gate ramp personnel extinguished the fire on the right side of the plane one minute after it began. Passengers evacuated the aircraft onto the left overwing and a slide from the jet's right door. NTSB's photos of the evacuated aircraft show burn marks and damage from the jet's right wing, main landing gear, and landing gear wheel well. 'The safety of our customers and team members is our top priority, and we are cooperating with the National Transportation Safety Board in its investigation of American Airlines flight 1006,' an American Airlines spokesperson told Fortune in a statement. The March flight diversion was one of several highly scrutinized aviation safety incidents early in the year. In January, an American Airlines jet collided with an Army helicopter in Washington, D.C., killing 67 people. Later that month, a small, private plane crashed in Northeast Philadelphia, resulting in multiple deaths. Most recently, Newark Liberty International Airport experienced a series of radio outages, which resulted in a slew of flight delays and cancellations. These incidents can have financial repercussions for airlines. American Airlines reported in its first-quarter earnings challenges to resuscitate its corporate travel business as a result of 'economic uncertainty that pressured domestic leisure demand and the tragic accident of American Eagle Flight 5342,' referring to the January incident. Despite the multiple safety blunders, aviation experts maintain it is still safe to fly. Boeing—though it has struggled in the past couple of years with safety concerns—reported a significant decline in fatalities in 2024, saying there has been a 40% decline in total accident rates and 65% decline in fatal accident rates in the past 20 years, while the number of flights has increased 20% in that same time period. Grant said the engine issues with Flight 1006 are rare, speaking to the dependability of its CFM56-7B engine. 'The engine is extremely reliable,' he said. 'The fact that we don't see situations like this occurring frequently is testament to the reliability of the motors. It's an extremely reliable part.' He maintains the flight crew did what was 'reasonably expected' of them, given the information they had at the time—especially since they had to evacuate passengers from the jet when it was taxiing at a gate, a situation that usually necessitates deplaning procedures. Combined with statistics that aviation accidents have actually decreased, the rarity of the engine degradation points to the continued security of air travel, Grant said. 'If we go back and look from the '50s on to where we're at today, the accident trend is very, very small compared to the hundreds of thousands, millions of hours of flight time that are being flown every year,' he said. 'The data does not support that air travel is riskier. It's actually just the opposite.' This story was originally featured on
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Yahoo
More bus lanes proposed for busy Flatbush Avenue corridor in Brooklyn
BROOKLYN, N.Y. (PIX11) — New York City transportation experts are proposing major changes for what they've dubbed one of 'Brooklyn's most dangerous corridors.' The Department of Transportation announced proposals for new bus lanes along Brooklyn's Flatbush Avenue stretching from Livingston Street to Grand Army Plaza on Friday. More Transit News 'Almost 70,000 daily bus riders are stuck waiting too long for slow buses, drivers are caught in a mess of traffic, and pedestrians are left crossing intersections clogged with vehicles,' said NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez. The proposal seeks to create center-running bus lanes along Flatbush Avenue with new pedestrian spaces with the intention of improving traffic safety and reducing pedestrian crossing times. Center-running lanes would also help dramatically increase bus speeds by creating physically separated spaces for buses and reducing conflicts with personal vehicles, officials say. More Local News 'This plan will drastically improve the commute times for the tens of thousands of daily riders who live on Flatbush Avenue – many of whom rely on public transportation to get to work,' MTA President Demetrius Crichlow. Currently, Flatbush Avenue is a Vision Zero Priority Corridor, meaning it's one of the most dangerous streets in Brooklyn, with 55 people killed or severely injured since 2019. Bus speeds have also been recorded to be slower than four miles per hour during rush hours which is about the same speed as a person walking, according to the DOT. More: Latest News from Around the Tri-State Buses along Flatbush Avenue primarily serve Black, female, and low-income riders, a majority of who have household incomes of less than $80,000 a year, researchers from a Pratt Center study found. Many riders in the area have complained of long wait times in extreme weather, transportation experts say. With center-running lanes, NYC DOT would install concrete bus boarding islands in the street for pedestrians. The agency plans to continue community engagement throughout the spring to get feedback from residents, businesses and commuters. Dominique Jack is a digital content producer from Brooklyn with more than five years of experience covering news. She joined PIX11 in 2024. More of her work can be found here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Yahoo
Mexican naval vessel that struck Brooklyn Bridge towed across East River for repairs
NEW YORK — The Mexican naval vessel that struck the Brooklyn Bridge last month was towed across the East River to the Brooklyn Navy Yard early Friday, where it will be dry-docked and repaired, city officials said. The U.S. Coast Guard set up a 'safety zone' in the East River Friday morning so the ARM Cuauhtémoc could be slowly towed to its new berth, city Office of Emergency Management officials said. Two crew members died on the ship when its masts snapped off upon striking the underside of the iconic East River span on May 17. Crew members on the masts were left dangling in the air by their harnesses after the East River crash, but no one ended up in the water, video of the horrific crash showed. After leaving the pier, the ship accelerated backward, ultimately reaching a speed of about 6 knots, NTSB Investigator in Charge Brian Young said last month. 'At 8:24 p.m., the VHF radio broadcast was sounded requesting assistance from other tugboats in the area of the bridge,' Young said. 'At 8:24 and 45 seconds, the vessel's masts struck the underside of the Brooklyn Bridge.' The bridge avoided serious damage and was never at risk of collapse, officials said. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board was still investigating what caused the crash, but engine failure coupled with strong currents is suspected. The safety zone on Friday caused minor delays on the Staten Island Ferry toward lower Manhattan, but the Cuauhtémoc was docked by the Brooklyn Navy Yard by 7:30 a.m., officials said. 'Relocating a naval vessel by tow through an active waterway required detailed planning, unified command, and constant communication,' OEM said on X. The ship was heading for Iceland when it drifted into the East River span, which is about 30 feet lower than the ship's masts. It was supposed to head south to refuel in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, before heading out of New York Harbor and was never meant to sail under the bridge. According to the FDNY, at least 19 of those aboard were treated for injuries, with 11 initially in critical condition. The deceased were identified as America Yamilet Sanchez, 20, and Adal Jair Marcos, 23.
