When I read this and saw the pic at gCaptain - I frankly could not believe it .... well ....
This is a warship. A warship of the United States Navy. Here is a bit of the story.
On Monday however, the pilot assigned to the USS Howard, a guided missile destroyer stationed in San Diego, experienced the surprise of his life.Over at gCaptain, Rob has seven very good questions. I'm still in shock - I can add more. You?
A few miles out to sea, the pilot boat operator approached the warship, but immediately noticed blatant safety issues needed to be corrected. Noting the poor state of repair of the ladder hanging over the side, the pilot boat requested its replacement.
After the swapping out the bad ladder, the pilot began his climb up the vertical grey-painted steel. Upon reaching the very top rung, disaster struck and the ladder slipped over the edge about 2 feet.
The knots tying it to the ship had failed.
Losing his footing, the Pilot held on to the ladder with one hand until finally his grip let go. He fell approximately 18 feet to the wavetops.
C-14, what does an ISIC do with a photo like that coming through the NIPRNET from the pilot service company?
I hate to sound like this sounds but it is a fact - that ladder and knot problem would not happen on a Royal Navy or Royal Netherlands Navy ship. No. Not. Never.
Hat tip SP.
