NTSB Unable to Identify Cause in California that claimed 34 lives, a captain was sentenced to four years in jail.

TFD – Delve into the investigation of a tragic boat fire as the NTSB struggles to identify the cause, focusing on cell phones charging overnight. Discover more about this case.

A federal judge sentenced a former dive boat skipper to four years in jail on Thursday for a negligence conviction known as “seaman’s manslaughter.” The fire that broke out on his boat in 2019 claimed the lives of thirty-four individuals.

Jerry Nehl Boylan was found guilty in 2023 of one federal felony count of misconduct or neglect of a ship officer. He could have received a maximum sentence of ten years in prison.

The boat was anchored close to Santa Cruz Island, the largest of California’s Channel Islands, around 25 miles off the mainland, when the fire broke out early on Labor Day.

Prosecutors claim that Boylan, 70, was the first of the crew members to depart ship out of the five who managed to escape the 75-foot sailboat, The Conception. Authorities reported that a crew member and thirty-three passengers perished below deck due to smoke inhalation.

The US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California claims that the victims were asleep below deck when the fire started.

Robert Sumwalt, the chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board at the time, said it was the deadliest maritime accident in nearly 70 years.

Boylan did not try to put out the fire or save the passengers, according to the prosecution. He also did not set up a night watch or do enough crew training exercises.

In a statement at the time, US Attorney Martin Estrada stated, “As the jury found, this tragedy could have been avoided had Mr. Boylan simply performed the duties he was entrusted to carry out.” “We hope the loved ones of the victims find some comfort and closure in today’s verdict.

Boylan could have done anything, according to Estrada on Thursday, to stop the tragic disaster.

“This person could have detected the fire, attempted to put it out, and tried to alert the victims if he had had a night patrol—a basic precaution to have someone awake at night in case something went wrong,” the man added.

Susana Solano Rosas, whose three daughters perished in the fire, expressed relief that Boylan had been found guilty but voiced dissatisfaction with the length of his sentence. During the press conference on Thursday, she displayed a poster of her loved ones.

It’s not the justice system I was expecting—I would have thought it would take at least ten years—but we have to accept it as it is,” Solano Rosas stated.

CNN contacted Boylan’s attorney for comment but has not heard back. In 2019, an attorney for the boat’s owner, Truth Aquatics, said that a crew member had checked the area where the fire was believed to have been concentrated before it ignited.

Even though the NTSB was unable to pinpoint a specific cause, investigators claimed that cell phones and batteries left charging overnight may have been the source of the fire.