#KillCord - An official report into the tragic speedboat accident in Cornwall earlier this month that killed a father and daughter says that the driver was not attached to the boat's 'kill cord'.
As previously reported on Afloat.ie, BSkyB executive Nick Milligan and his eight-year-old daughter Emily were struck by the family's runaway RIB after being thrown overboard from the vessel on the afternoon of Sunday 5 May.
Four other family members were struck by the runaway boat as it circled in the water off Padstow. Nick's wife Victoria and four-year-old son Kit are recovering after sustaining "life-changing" leg injuries.
Police were reportedly investigating the role played in the incident by the boat's kill cord or safety lanyard, a device attached to the throttle that should automatically cut engine power if the driver is thrown from the vessel.
Now The Guardian reports the Marine Accident Investigation Branch's (MAIB) conclusion that the 8m Cobra RIB was fitted with a kill cord, but it was not attached to the driver.
It has not yet been determined who was driving the speedboat at the time of the accident, nor is it clear how the family was thrown from the vessel.
The report added: "The kill cord serves only one purpose, to stop the engine when the driver moves away from the controls.
"To ensure that this tragic accident is not repeated it is essential that all owners and operators of vessels ensure they are fitted with kill cords."
