NEW YORK (AP) _ A 1998 Coast Guard report found that crew members of the Staten Island ferry and city officials ignored suggestions to improve passenger warning systems on the boats.
The report followed a collision that injured two people, and noted that the ``overriding opinion'' of the ferry operators ``is that passengers will ignore all warnings, so why bother trying to improve them,'' The New York Times reported in Saturday editions.
Meanwhile, a judge late Friday ordered the captain in last week's fatal ferry crash to appear in federal court to explain why he has not complied with a subpoena from investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board.
Prompt testimony is critical to the investigation into the Oct. 15 crash, which killed 10 people and injured dozens, Marjorie Murtagh, director of the NTSB's Office of Marine Safety, said in a statement requesting the order.
Lawyers for the captain, Michael Gansas, said he is too traumatized to be interviewed. The city has started the process of firing Gansas and has suspended one of the ship's two mates, Robert Rush, for not cooperating with investigators.
Gansas told police immediately after the accident that he tried to pull Richard Smith, the assistant captain piloting the ferry, off the controls after Smith lost consciousness off Staten Island. The ferry slammed into a pier.
Safety procedures on the ferry, which carries 18 million riders a year, are being scrutinized as a result of the accident.
Transportation Commissioner Iris Weinshall said the ferries had not had any major accidents in 98 years, but acknowledged she was now looking into whether additional safety measures were needed.
In the past, the Coast Guard's inspections emphasized the physical condition of the ferries over the performance of crew members, the Times said, citing Coast Guard documents and interviews with ferry employees. Current and former employees also said that operations on the ferry varied depending on the captains.
