Ferry Crash Capt. Takes The Fifth

The captain of a Staten Island ferry that slammed into a pier, killing 10 people, repeatedly invoked his right against self-incrimination Thursday under questioning by federal investigators.

Capt. Michael Gansas, appearing before investigators for the first time, gave his name and age but refused to answer any questions about the Oct. 15 crash, said National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Ellen Engelman.

"We hope we will be able to talk to Capt. Gansas again in the future," Engelman said.

The NTSB has interviewed more than 50 witnesses, including every crew member except Gansas and pilot Richard Smith, who has been hospitalized since attempting suicide after the crash.

Gansas, 38, invoked the Fifth Amendment over and over during the court-ordered meeting with NTSB investigators. He left the Coast Guard station on Staten Island about two hours later without speaking to reporters.

City Transportation Commissioner Iris Weinshall was furious. "It's outrageous that Captain Gansas refused to share information about what happened on that day," she said in a statement.

The Oct. 15 crash, as the ferry attempted to dock on Staten Island, also injured dozens of passengers, including one who lost both his legs.

On Tuesday, the city's highest-ranking transportation official said that a crew member had told city investigators that Gansas was not in his required position in the wheelhouse to assist pilot Richard Smith as the ferry came in to dock.

Gansas arrived in the wheelhouse only after the gruesome accident, Weinshall said, describing the scenario provided by mate Robert Rush.

That would be a violation of city policy requiring the captain to be in the wheelhouse when the ferry is docking.

Weinshall also said the crew member says Smith, who claims to have lost consciousness before the crash, was standing upright at the time of the accident.

Gansas has been suspended for refusing to cooperate with the federal investigation.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said last week that it was "an outrage that somebody who can give us information to perhaps find out how we can improve service refuses to talk. A person like that has no business working for the city, and we will take every legal action we can to get his testimony."

Bloomberg also said that the city will institute a series of reforms including requiring an extra person to be in the pilot's cabin while the ferry is crossing New York Harbor, as well as when it is docking.

The ferries will also be outfitted with new radios and global positioning satellite technology, he said.

Gansas told police immediately after the accident that he was in the pilothouse and that he tried to pull Smith off the controls after he lost consciousness, an official familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press.

Gansas had avoided speaking with investigators before Thursday, with his lawyers arguing he was too traumatized to be interviewed. He ignored NTSB subpoenas until a federal judge on Wednesday ordered him to meet with NTSB investigators.