New Category – Outboard Motor Broke Off & Flipped Into Boat
Numerous previous posts concerned outboard motors striking submerged objects, breaking off, and flipping into boats, preventing or mitigating those accidents, log strike systems, accidents and legal trials involving such accidents and related topics.
We will now be covering this topic in this category of the PropellerSafety blog.
If anyone wonders why we are covering these accidents on PropellerSafety.com, its because outboards that break off and enter the boat typically come in with the engine still running, the propeller at a high RPM, and often result in severe or fatal propeller injuries.
These accidents tend to happen when striking heavy, or fixed submerged objects (stumps, piers, logs, dredge pipes, etc.) when underway at moderate or faster speeds.
Earlier posts will not be moved from their previous categories, so links to some of those posts are furnished below.
Lists of Accidents
- Our partial list of Outboard Motors Flipping Into Boats
- Large outboard motors and bass boat outboard motors breaking off and flipping into boats list
Prevention
- Approaches to Prevent Outboard Motors From Flipping Into Boats pdf paper
- Outboard Motor Strikes Submerged Object and Flips Into Boat: Accident and Injury Mitigation pdf chart
- The Leash a vectran tether for bass boat outboards
- USCG public comment letter 31 October 2014
Some Individual Accidents
- Willie Barrett and Walt Ross 2009
- Mike Moreno accident 2011
- Mark Barhanovich accident 2012
- Timothy Clippard accident 2013
- Todd Iwamoto accident 2014
- Rex Chambers accident 2014
Legal Cases
- Mark Barhanovich – Jones Act suit by C.F. Bean & Bean Meridian
- Bean Pled Guilty in Barhanovich Criminal Case
- Note- numerous legal cases are listed at the bottom of the list of outboard motor broke off and flipped into boat above (the first link in this series of links)
Similarly our accident and legal coverage of such accidents will continue to be posted in the accident and legal categories of the blog. We will try to post links to future accidents and legal trials related to outboard motors breaking off and flipping into boats below.
Do you have any cases where people have been injured, and how, when “changing” a prop? Thank you for the reply! Bill (HPI)
I am sure many people have been cut by propellers, especially by stainless steel propellers while changing props on recreational boats, however one would expect most of those injuries to be minor in comparison to being struck by the propeller in the water (ran over by the boat). However, dropping a stainless steel propeller on your foot while changing the propeller of a boat on a trailer could certainly chop your foot off.
As to larger vessels, yes, I have seen numerous reports of divers seriously injured or killed while changing propellers or performing propeller maintenance when someone started the engine and put the propeller in gear.