Engine Log Focus of Ship Crash Probe

A Coast Guard commander testified that he doesn’t believe anyone tampered with the engine log of a ship that crashed into a riverside shopping mall in New Orleans. But Cmdr. Ken Parris was not asked at an inquiry if he noticed that a page was missing when he checked the book right after the accident. The missing page--neatly cut out of the bound, handwritten log--covered the two days before the accident. It has caused an uproar among several lawyers, who say the page might have been used to record problems with an engine lubrication pump that failed, leaving the ship almost impossible to steer.