TOWBOAT RECOVERED; BODY STILL MISSING

STE. GENEVIEVE, Mo. -- The captain of a towboat that sank in a fatal accident on the Mississippi River last month was likely responsible for his own death, an official with boat owner Luhr Bros. of Columbia, Ill., said Wednesday.

The Patty Ann went down with its captain and two deckhands on board shortly before midnight on Feb. 27 near Ste. Genevieve. The deckhands were able to swim to safety, but Capt. John Distefano was lost. His body has not been recovered.

"We suspect, based on interviews with employees and others who investigated, that the cause of the accident was pilot error," said Mike Habel, risk manager for Luhr Bros.

After a three-day salvage operation that ended Friday, Distefano's body was not found in the Patty Ann, said a spokesman for Okie Moore Diving and Salvage of St. Charles, Mo.

Distefano, who had worked for Luhr Bros. for 10 months, lived in Perryville, Mo.

Deputies with the Ste. Genevieve County Sheriff's Department are continuing to check the river banks and port areas from their vehicles for the captain's body as part of their regular patrols, Capt. M.A. Maples said.

"We don't anticipate finding any remains in Ste. Genevieve County," Maples said. "The only way he could still be in the county is if he got hung up on something."

Towboat to be repaired

Salvaging the towboat had been delayed for two weeks by high water along the river. Last week's work was slowed further because the boat had filled with sand, which was cleaned out after the boat was brought out of the water last Friday.

Luhr Bros. plans to fix damages to the Patty Ann, with repairs to be completed in roughly five months.

"We don't have a complete accounting of damages to the vessel yet, but the hull appears to be in good shape," Habel said.

Although the U.S. Coast Guard is continuing to investigate the accident and will issue an official report at some point, Habel thinks a method for moving barges called "downstreaming" contributed to the accident.

Downstreaming is a maneuver used by towboats to select a barge for repositioning. The boat starts by going upriver from a fleet of barges. As the boat captain turns his boat around so the bow points toward the barges, he turns off his engines and floats downstream.

Just before the bow touches the barges, the captain throws his engines in reverse as a brake. When river levels are up, the danger of taking on water and sinking increases.

Investigations have shown that the Patty Ann was in good repair prior to the accident, Habel said.

The Patty Ann, built in 1986, is a 1,300-horsepower, 65-foot-long towing vessel owned by Tower Rock Stone Co., a division of Luhr Bros.