SEATTLE – The National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation into the deadly crash of a duck boat and charter bus in Seattle marks the first time the agency has looked into a land crash of the amphibious vehicles critics say are too dangerous for city streets.
The agency has scrutinized the military-style vehicles several times when they’ve been in accidents on water, board member Earl Weener said at a news conference Friday.
READ MORE: 4 people dead, dozens injured after two buses collide in Seattle
Four international students from Austria, China, Indonesia and Japan died in the crash Thursday after witnesses said the duck boat veered into the oncoming bus on a Seattle bridge.
A team of investigators arrived Friday and will spend a week or more on site. A typical investigation lasts a year, Weener said.
Even before the crash, calls had emerged for greater oversight and even an outright ban on the military-style vehicles that allow tourists to see cities by road and water.
Critics say the large amphibious vehicles are built for war, not for ferrying people on narrow city streets.
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