Navy Opts For Physical Throttles On Destroyers After Fatal Collisions
Professional Mariner|December / January 2020
In the wake of high-profile collisions involving U.S. Navy destroyers, including a 2017 incident that killed 10 sailors aboard USS John S. McCain, the service is revising bridge training practices and addressing what it sees as an over-reliance on computer touch screens for ship control.
Alan R. Earls
Navy Opts For Physical Throttles On Destroyers After Fatal Collisions

The investigation into the August 2017 collision and one involving another Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, USS Fitzgerald, showed that the touch-screen systems were complex and that sailors had been poorly trained to use them. As a result, the Navy said it plans to begin retrofitting destroyers in the class with traditional mechanical throttles.

The sequence of events has had significant repercussions, as other military branches and even civilian operators may examine their practices and consider whether they might be vulnerable to the same accidents that befell the Navy.

Douglas Crowder retired from the Navy and now the president of a consulting firm served as commander of the 7th Fleet and Navy Destroyer Squadron 24. He said his interpretation of the Navy’s findings is that the incidents were mostly a result of “training issues” and poor decision-making by the commanding officers.

This story is from the December / January 2020 edition of Professional Mariner.

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This story is from the December / January 2020 edition of Professional Mariner.

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