The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) head told reporters on Tuesday that before anyone can think about cleaning up the debris from now collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, the focus will be on the families and those impacted by the tragic and devastating event.
NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy gave reporters an update during a press briefing, though she prefaced the briefing by saying she would not be answering questions on fatalities, deferring those questions to local agencies.
Instead, she said the NTSB will step back to allow the Coast Guard and others involved in search and rescue efforts after the major bridge was struck by a container ship and collapsed at about 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning.
Homendy said a team of experts will investigate everything leading up to the crash, including nautical operations, vessel operations, safety history, the ships safety record, owner operations, company policy, safety management, human performance, engineering, survival factors and more.
She also said the highway safety team and structural engineers will assist with the investigation.
A family assistance team will be on site to help families, friends and loved ones, of those affected by the collapse.
“This is a team effort,” Homendy said, adding there were a lot of entities in the command post.
As far as the number of cars and workers on the bridge at the time of the collapse, Homendy said that information needs to be verified.
She said she does not believe anyone is thinking about the next steps of cleaning up the bridge and getting the shipping route reopened. Instead, Homendy said, this was about families.
“Nobody is going by a number,” she said. “They are just looking and searching.”
Homendy told reporters she was not aware of the bridge being flagged for safety deficiencies in the past, though the investigation will look into that. She also said, though, that the investigation in the bridge’s history could take at least two years and will not be verified on the scene.
Still, Homendy said there was not a lot of information to provide at the time of the presser, as she and her team only just got there.
“Really, the focus is on the families,” she said.