NTSB to Name Cause of Ship Striking Kentucky Bridge

The National Transportation Safety Board is expected to reveal what caused a cargo ship to slam into a western Kentucky bridge over the Tennessee River.

The collapse of the Eggner’s Ferry Bridge near Aurora, Ky., on Jan. 12, 2012, is the subject of part of a board meeting Tuesday morning at 9:30 a.m. EDT in Washington D.C.

Late that night, the Delta Mariner ran into the bridge, causing a 322-foot section of the span to collapse.

The Delta Mariner was carrying an Atlas rocket booster and other components for the U.S. Air Force’s AEHF-2 mission from Decatur, Ala., to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The missing span halted traffic on U.S. 68 between the western shore of Kentucky Lake and the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area.