Pilot dies after gangway collapses in Corpus Christi

636650194522586645 Capt. Robert Adams

(CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas) — The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating whether a ship's failed gangway fastening played a role in the death Saturday of an experienced harbor pilot, the Corpus Christi Caller Times reported.

Capt. Robert Louis Adams, 65, was climbing aboard a ship when its gangway collapsed, according to Henry de la Garza, a spokesman for the Aransas-Corpus Christi Pilots. Adams and another person fell about 20 feet into the LaQuinta Channel. Both were recovered by a good Samaritan before a Coast Guard response team arrived.

Adams started as a deputy pilot for the pilots association in August 1989 and became a full pilot two years later.

“He was reportedly about one step away when the whole thing collapsed,” de la Garza said.

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By Professional Mariner Staff