The Mexican Navy tall ship which crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge, killing two cadets, may have suffered an engine failure, investigators have revealed. Officials from the NTSB shared more details on Monday about the critical moments leading up to the collision involving the massive Cuauhtémoc Training Ship and the iconic New York City bridge.
The grim update came as authorities identified the second Mexican cadet who lost his life in Saturday night's tragic accident — 22-year-old Adal Jair Marcos. Marcos, originally from Oaxaca, was remembered by his family as an avid traveler who had spent the last nine months of his life aboard the Cuauhtémoc as part of its global voyage.
Crashed after Engine Failure
Marcos was "a sincere and loyal friend, who always supports others during difficult times," and someone who "spread joy with his smile," a childhood friend shared with the Daily News. The other sailor who died in the tragic event was previously identified as 20-year-old Navy cadet América Yamilet Sánchez.
She and Marcos were both on the masts of the 160-foot-tall training ship when it smashed into the bridge. The powerful impact caused them to fall to the deck below, leading to their deaths as horrified onlookers watched from the docks.
Brian Young, the official heading the NTSB's inquiry into the disaster, said that an "engine failure" is being considered as a "possible cause of the bridge strike."
Responding to questions at a press conference on Monday, Young said, "The question pertains to a possible cause of the bridge strike... (it) possibly was an engine failure. We have an engineering group led by myself, and we will look at the status of the engine.
"We will look for any failures, we will look for engine inspections, and we'll talk to the crew about what may have possibly occurred with the engine."
The ship had 277 crew members on board, and 22 were injured when it crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge at 8:25 p.m. on Saturday evening. According to the NYPD, the Mexican Navy ship most likely suffered a "mechanical failure" that led to a loss of power before the collision.
Investigation Still Ongoing
Just eight hours before the tragic incident, Sánchez, of Xalapa, Mexico, had shared a social media post enjoying a night out in New York City — what would become the final day of her life.
The naval academy engineering student posted a cheerful photo of herself smiling aboard the Cuauhtémoc, captioning it with "NY" and a red heart emoji. Sánchez was known in her hometown as a talented swimmer who had won several medals in competitions, local news outlet E-Consulta Veracruz reported.
Young also said that investigators are looking the role of the tugboat that helped guide the ship away from the pier just five minutes prior the collision. "As far as we know at this time, the tugboat had assisted the vessel moving off the pier," he said at the press conference.
"Part of our investigation will be to look into the tugboat's policies and procedures for the operation once helping the vessel get off the pier - what it's guidance would be and the job it would have to do."
NTSB board member Michael Graham said that all details shared during the press conference were "preliminary," as the investigation is still in its early stages. He added that the team is currently working to collect "perishable evidence" from the scene.
