CNN.com - Civilians say they didn't cause sub wreck
Daniel Santos
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HONOLULU, Hawaii (CNN) -- Civilian guests aboard a U.S. submarine that hit a Japanese fishing ship denied Thursday that they were a distraction to the submarine's crew.
Fifteen civilians and one international military observer were aboard the USS Greeneville when the nuclear-powered submarine hit the fishing vessel Ehime Maru last Friday. Nine of the 35 people aboard the Japanese ship are missing and presumed dead.
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Two civilians were at key stations -- supervised closely by the ship's crew -- as the submarine performed an emergency surfacing drill off Hawaii that resulted in the crash.
U.S. Navy officials said Wednesday that the civilians' presence may have distracted the Greeneville's crew. The Navy has turned their names over to the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, which is carrying out an investigation.
But Todd Thoman, one of the civilians aboard the submarine, said their visit did not distract the crew.
"The minute we walked on board the USS Greeneville, this was a business and it was nothing but professional," Thoman told NBC's "Today" show Thursday. "Not one thing got done on that submarine that the commanding officer was not made aware of and in total control of."
The 15 guests were members of an organization that supports the USS Missouri Battleship Memorial in Hawaii. Pentagon officials have emphasized there was no proof that they distracted the crew or contributed in any way to the accident.
Another civilian, John Hall, said he was closely supervised while at the USS Greeneville's ballast controls, which control the submarine's ability to dive. Hall said a crew member placed his hands over his own as Hall operated the control levers.
'What the hell was that?'
Hall told NBC that Greeneville's skipper, Cmdr. Scott Waddle, and other crew members scanned the horizon at least twice before beginning an emergency surfacing drill last Friday that resulted in the sub's collision with the Ehime Maru.
"This was the last procedure of the day, and we were going back into Pearl Harbor," Hall said. "We came up to periscope depth, and another member of the crew took the periscope up and made two complete rotations at 360 degrees."
Waddle himself took a look at the surface through the periscope, and the view was projected onto screens around the submarine's control room, Hall said. Observers in the room saw no sign of a ship on the surface.
Then, Hall said, Waddle brought the periscope down and ordered the vessel to dive in preparation for the emergency ascent. The maneuver brings the 360-foot (110-meter) submarine to the surface at a steep angle and with great force, its bow pointing sharply upward.
"Just as it was starting to come down, and you could feel the sensation of it coming down, there was a very loud noise and the entire submarine shuddered," Hall said. He said Waddle blurted out, "Jesus, what the hell was that?"
Another guest, who has not been identified, was seated at the helm position, from which the submarine can be steered.
News that civilians were at the submarine's controls angered some Japanese, including the Ehime Maru's first officer, who called it "unforgivable." But Rear Adm. Steve Pietropaoli, a Pentagon spokesman, downplayed the significance of that news Thursday.
As the submarine rises, "The function of the helmsman ... is essentially to do nothing," Pietropaoli said.
Pentagon won't release names
The 180-foot (55-meter) Ehime Maru sank within minutes. Rescuers saved 26 of the 35 aboard the Japanese ship but nine remain missing. Thoman said it was quickly evident that the accident was serious.
"Once we saw the ship taking on water and the crew bringing things out, we knew it was going to be a devastating effect," he said.
Waddle has been reassigned during the investigation. He could be court-martialed for criminal negligence if the investigation finds he did not follow proper procedures, Pentagon sources told CNN.
Although Hall and Thoman appeared on NBC, the Pentagon has refused to release the names of others aboard the Greeneville at the time of the accident.
"As long as an investigative inquiry is in place, it would not be appropriate to release names," Rear Adm. Craig Quigley, a Pentagon spokesman, said Thursday.
Navy officials said it is routine to allow guests to experience the thrill of a rapid ascent known as an "emergency blow," while holding the steering wheel, but only under the close and direct supervision of a qualified helmsman.
The vessel was within its assigned operating area when the collision occurred about 10 miles (16 kilometers) off Hawaii's Diamond Head, Navy officials said -- but it was outside the warning area marked on nautical charts, which is not as extensive.
Marking the warning area on the charts in no way restricts surface ships or submarines from operating inside or outside its boundaries. And although the Navy says the sub was within its operating area, that would not relieve the submarine's crew of its responsibility to make sure the surface is clear before coming up.
Survivor search could end soon
Meanwhile, Coast Guard officials said the effort to find survivors could end at any time Thursday after more than five days of fruitless searches. Coast Guard Rear Adm. Joseph McClelland said the search has been the most thorough the service has conducted.
Those missing and feared dead include four 17-year-old students from the Uwajima Fisheries High School in southwestern Japan, two of their teachers and three crew members from the Ehime Maru. The ship was carrying the high school students on a field trip to learn about commercial fishing.
"That patch of ocean was repeatedly searched, exhaustively, and with great care," McClelland said at a news conference Wednesday. He said 12 ships and 11 aircraft from both the Navy and Coast Guard covered 72 search areas, totaling 38,000 square kilometers.
McClelland said he was going to call off the search at nightfall Wednesday, but after discussions with the families of the missing and representatives from the Japanese government, he decided to keep it going into Thursday.
Once the rescue operation is over, the Navy will take over search and recovery operations, and will send an unmanned probe known as Scorpio II underwater at the site to determine the location of the ship and the feasibility of a recovery operation.
CNN Correspondents Jamie McIntyre, Martin Savidge, Gary Tuchman, Marina Kamimura and Producer Chris Plante contributed to this report.
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