Branson Duck Boat Accident Victims: NTSB Findings and Settlements

The Branson duck boat accident killed 17 of the 31 people aboard Stretch Duck 7 when the amphibious tour vessel sank on Table Rock Lake near Branson, Missouri, during a severe thunderstorm on the evening of July 19, 2018. The victims ranged in age from one to 76 and included nine members of a single Indianapolis family. Every civil claim against the operator was later settled, every criminal charge against the captain and two supervisors was dismissed, and Congress eventually passed a law requiring the safety changes federal investigators had recommended nearly two decades earlier.

What Happened on Table Rock Lake

Stretch Duck 7 was operated by Ride the Ducks Branson, a franchise of Ripley Entertainment. The boat carried 29 passengers and two crew that evening. The National Weather Service had posted a severe thunderstorm watch hours before departure and upgraded it to a warning one minute before the vessel left its boarding facility. The manager on duty directed the crew to run the water portion of the tour first because of the approaching weather.1NTSB. Sinking of Stretch Duck 7, Table Rock Lake

About five minutes after the vessel entered the lake, a derecho struck. Wind gusts reached 73 mph and generated waves three to five feet high. Water poured through a spring-loaded bow air intake hatch that could not be securely closed, filling the engine compartment. The vessel had no internal subdivision and no built-in flotation, so flooding spread uncontrollably. The boat sank roughly 250 feet from the exit ramp at approximately 7:08 p.m. and settled about 80 feet down.2NTSB. Marine Accident Report MAR-20-01

Survivors said the captain had told passengers life jackets were available but would not be needed. As conditions worsened, the fixed canopy over the passenger area and the closed side curtains made escape extremely difficult. Fourteen people survived. The rescue effort, drawing on multiple fire districts, EMS, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, civilians from a nearby marina, and crew from a moored paddlewheeler, continued until roughly 2:00 a.m.3ABC News. Photo Shows Happy Family Before Duck Boat Horror4Rural Health Information Hub. Mass Casualty Incident Case Study – Southern Stone County Fire Protection District

The 17 People Who Died

Nine of the dead came from one extended family. Eleven Colemans from Indianapolis boarded Stretch Duck 7, and only two walked away: Tia Coleman and her 13-year-old nephew, Donovan Hall. Those who died were Glenn Coleman, 40; his three children with Tia, Reece, 9, Evan, 7, and Arya, 1; Glenn’s parents, Horace “Butch” Coleman, 70, and Belinda Coleman, 69; his uncle Ervin “Ray” Coleman, 76; his sister Angela “Angiee” Coleman, 45; and Angela’s two-year-old son, Maxwell.3ABC News. Photo Shows Happy Family Before Duck Boat Horror5Springfield News-Leader. Duck Boat Sinking in Branson – What Happened on Table Rock Lake

Steve Smith, 53, a retired teacher and church deacon from Osceola, Arkansas, died with his 15-year-old son Lance. Steve’s 14-year-old daughter, Loren, survived with a concussion and was credited with pulling a younger girl to safety. A memorial scholarship was later established in Steve and Lance’s names at Freed-Hardeman University.6WRAL. Remembering the Smith Family7Christian Chronicle. Scholarship Honors Victims of Duck Boat Tragedy

The remaining victims:

Tia Coleman, who lost her husband, all three of her children, and five other relatives, later said she learned Glenn had been found holding their three children. She relocated out of Indiana, launched a speaker series on grief and recovery, and in 2019 publicly called on the Coast Guard to adopt the NTSB’s safety recommendations on canopies and buoyancy.10CNN. Tia Coleman Missouri Duckboat Survivor – Anderson Cooper11WRTV. Duck Boat Sinking Survivor Committed to Helping Families Facing Trauma

What the NTSB Found

The National Transportation Safety Board concluded the probable cause of the sinking was Ripley Entertainment’s decision to continue waterborne tours after a severe thunderstorm warning had been issued. That decision put the vessel in the path of a derecho that drove water through the bow hatch and flooded a hull with no reserve buoyancy. Contributing factors included the Coast Guard’s failure to require sufficient reserve buoyancy in amphibious vessels and its ineffective response to the egress problem created by fixed canopies.2NTSB. Marine Accident Report MAR-20-01

Those two problems were not new. After the 1999 sinking of the duck boat Miss Majestic in Arkansas, the NTSB had issued 22 safety recommendations for amphibious passenger vessels. Only nine were ever implemented. Two of the most important, requiring reserve buoyancy so a flooded hull would stay afloat and requiring removal of the canopies that trapped passengers, were classified “Closed—Unacceptable Action” after the Coast Guard declined to act. Coast Guard inspection records showed the Table Rock Lake duck boats were not supposed to operate when winds exceeded 35 mph or waves exceeded two feet, conditions well below what the derecho produced.12NTSB. Marine Safety Recommendation Report 19/0113KERA News. NTSB – Missouri Duck Boat Sinking That Killed 17 Could Have Been Avoided

Criminal Charges and Why They Were Dismissed

Three Ride the Ducks employees were charged in connection with the deaths: Captain Kenneth Scott McKee, 54; general manager Curtis P. Lanham, 39; and operations supervisor Charles V. Baltzell, 79. They faced parallel federal and state cases. Every charge was eventually dismissed, and no one has been convicted of any crime connected to the sinking.

In federal court, a grand jury returned a 47-count superseding indictment in June 2019 charging seaman’s manslaughter and misdemeanor grossly negligent vessel operation.14U.S. Department of Justice. Two More Ripley Employees Indicted for Misconduct and Negligence Resulting in 17 Deaths In December 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri dismissed the indictment, ruling that Table Rock Lake was not “navigable water” under federal admiralty law and that the charged statutes therefore did not apply. On May 30, 2023, the Eighth Circuit affirmed in a 2-1 decision. Judge Jane Kelly, writing for the majority, said the court declined “the government’s invitation to expand the scope of a criminal statute without direction from Congress.”15U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. United States v. McKee, No. 20-3671

In state court, each defendant faced 17 counts of first-degree involuntary manslaughter in Stone County. Judge Alan Blankenship dismissed the charges on April 5, 2022, ruling there was no evidence the defendants knew of the storm’s specific gust front. The Missouri Attorney General’s Office refiled the charges later that month.16NBC News. Judge Dismisses Criminal Charges in Missouri Duck Boat Accident On December 31, 2025, Judge Johnnie Cox dismissed the refiled charges for lack of probable cause.17KY3. Judge Dismisses Charges Against Captain, 2 Supervisors Involved in Deadly Ride the Ducks Sinking

Civil Settlements

Families filed 31 civil lawsuits against Ripley Entertainment and related businesses, with at least one seeking $100 million. By January 2020, every claim had been resolved through mediated settlements on confidential terms. Ripley spokeswoman Suzanne Smagala-Potts said the company had “actively pursued mediated settlements” and that “all claims against Branson Ride The Ducks have now been resolved.”18The Indiana Lawyer. Owner of Duck Boat That Sank Killing 17 Settles Final Lawsuit Settlement amounts were not disclosed. The daughters of William and Janice Bright reached confidential settlements in November 2018.19Kansas City Star. Families of Branson Duck Boat Victims Reach Settlements Ride the Ducks Branson also committed to paying medical and funeral expenses for affected families.20WorkBoat. Duck Boat Raised From Missouri Lake for NTSB Analysis

The 2022 Federal Safety Law

Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri introduced the Duck Boat Safety Enhancement Act, and its provisions were signed into law on December 23, 2022, as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023. The law requires duck boat operators to ensure passengers wear life jackets during waterborne operations, remove fixed canopies or use designs that do not block escape, and install underwater emergency lighting. It also directs the Coast Guard to set new minimum buoyancy and weather preparedness standards.21Kansas City Star. Congress Enacts Duck Boat Safety Regulations

The Coast Guard missed its six-month rulemaking deadline but issued an interim final rule on September 11, 2023, codifying the immediate requirements and giving operators 120 days to comply. Longer-term buoyancy and structural standards were reserved for a later rulemaking.22Federal Register. DUKW Amphibious Passenger Vessels

What Happened to Ride the Ducks Branson

Ride the Ducks Branson never reopened. Ripley Entertainment announced the attraction would not operate for the 2019 season, the duck boats went into storage, and the Branson property was repurposed as “Branson Top Ops,” featuring an outdoor maze, laser tag, and other activities.23Kansas City Star. Ride the Ducks Branson Will Not Operate in 2019 The company later sold its remaining fleet to an Arkansas investment company.

A separate operator, Branson Duck Tours, began offering amphibious tours in the area in spring 2022 using Hydra-Terra vehicles with foam-filled hulls designed not to sink. Those tours run on Lake Taneycomo rather than Table Rock Lake and operate under current DOT and Coast Guard rules rather than the grandfathered exemptions that governed the original duck boats.24KMBC. Branson Missouri Duck Boats Returning With New Vessels