First report on sub collision could come this week

The Navy is using the remotely operated vehicle Scorpio II, which carries sonar and video cameras capable of examining underwater objects     WEB EXCLUSIVE Frank Buckley: Previous sub recommendations not taken

In this story: Civilians describe incident Civilian 'elbow-to-elbow' with crewman Sub had strayed from marked area NTSB seeks recordings of incident Minor inconsistencies in stories RELATED STORIES, SITES

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A preliminary investigation into the collision of a surfacing U.S. submarine and the Japanese fishing vessel Ehime Maru could be completed by the end of the week, the Pentagon said Thursday.

Investigators are trying to determine how the nuclear submarine did not see the Ehine Maru before surfacing. Nine people from the fishing vessel, including four high school students, are missing. Twenty-six people were rescued.

Meanwhile, U.S. President George W. Bush ordered a review of all policies on civilian activity during military exercises.

IN-DEPTH Collision at sea  • Key facts  • Look inside the sub  • Sub-ship size comparison  • How a submarine works  • Description of ascent maneuver    VIDEO Civilians on the sub tell what happened (February 15) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) A retired U.S. Navy admiral talks about the issue of civilians working on submarines (February 15) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) CNN's Marina Kamimura talks with a family hoping for the recovery of their son after the sinking of his ship (February 15) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) CNN's Jamie McIntyre reports on the investigation of the USS Greeneville collision (February 15) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)   RESOURCE Recent Incidents have strained US-Japanese relations   AUDIO Hear the distress call issed by the Navy after the collision 1.7Mb/20 sec. AIFF or WAV sound (Transcript)   LINK Demonstration of a Navy submarine's emergency surface

Two civilians were at control positions when the USS Greeneville rose rapidly to the surface and sliced into the Japanese vessel, but Navy officials have said that the civilians were closely supervised.

Navy Rear Adm. Craig Quigley, a Pentagon spokesman, said Pacific Fleet Commander Adm. Thomas Fargo could get a report in "a few days" and Fargo has broad discretion, including the authority to investigate whether the captain or crewmembers should be court-martialed because of the accident.

"So the process ... now is truly a quick look, designed to take only a few days to accurately point you in the right direction for what the next steps should be," Quigley told reporters at a Pentagon briefing.

The captain of the Greeneville, Cmdr. Scott Waddle, was relieved of duty after Friday's incident.

Speaking with reporters at the start of a budget meeting with Republican lawmakers, Bush said "What's going to be necessary is for (Defense) Secretary (Donald) Rumsfeld and the Defense Department to review all policy regarding civilian activity during military exercises... particularly in light of the recent tragedy in Hawaii."

"I want to reiterate what I said to the prime minister of Japan. I am deeply sorry that the accident took place, our nation is sorry that the accident happened," Bush said. "We will do everything we can to help recover the bodies."

Civilians describe incident

The accident happened despite what civilians on board the submarine said was a periscope check of the immediate area shortly before the submarine began its practice emergency ascent.

Two of the civilians aboard the sub gave broadcast interviews with NBC Thursday.

One of them said the sub hit the boat with such force that the entire submarine "shuddered."

John Hall, who said he was at the submarine's ballast controls, vividly described the moment the sub hit the ship.

During the maneuver, the submarine surfaces so quickly that its bow rises out of the water. "Just as it was starting to come down, and you could feel a sensation of it coming down, there was a very loud noise and the entire submarine shuddered," Hall said.

Hall also said he remembered the captain's reaction.

"I remember his words pretty vividly. He said, 'Jesus, what the hell was that?'"

Civilian 'elbow to elbow' with crewman

Hall said he was asked by the captain if he would like to pull the ballast levers. "I said, 'Sure, I'd love to do that.'"

Hall said he was "elbow-to-elbow" with the nearest crewman.

"The seaman that was standing next to me put his hands over my hands and made sure the levers were in a lock, and he said, 'Sit down.' Immediately you sit down and the submarine began to rise."

Another civilian on board, Todd Thoman, rejected the suggestion that civilians played any role in the accident.

"I adamantly deny that," Thoman said. "The minute we walked on board the USS Greeneville, this was a business and it was nothing but professional."

Thoman said the crew made a visual check of the ocean surface before making the rapid ascent and did not see the Japanese ship. The periscope checks, he said, were also visible on a video screen within the submarine and no one apparently saw the fishing vessel.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it plans to interview all 16 civilians aboard the sub.

A Navy spokesman said the fact that civilians were at control stations during the accident should have been revealed sooner.

"Clearly in hindsight, we could have done a much better job of making that information known not only to you all, but to the NTSB," Rear Adm. Steve Pietropaoli told reporters at a Pentagon briefing.

Off the coast of Honolulu, Hawaii, where the accident occurred, rough weather hampered the search effort. Some special underwater equipment to aid the search has not yet been deployed because of high seas and wind.

"There's no indication at this point in the investigation that the civilians had any impact on the outcome," he said.

Sub had strayed from marked area

The Navy has not released the names of the civilians, nor said which ones were at the control stations.

Also on Thursday, the Navy confirmed the Greeneville had strayed slightly outside an area marked on charts as a "test and trial area" at the time of the accident.

But Pietropaoli, the Navy's chief spokesman at the Pentagon, told reporters the sub was not required to remain within that area, designated mainly to inform surface ships a submarine might be operating nearby.

NTSB seeks recordings of incident

In a news conference, the NTSB's John Hammerschmidt said his agency has asked the Navy for audio, video and computer recordings of the incident.

Hammerschmidt said the Greeneville was equipped with sonar and periscope recording equipment, but the Navy has said no recordings were made.

"We're told it's not utilized that often, it would not be the norm to have that in operation, and it was not in operation, so that's what we've been told, I want to emphasize when I give this information, this is what we are being told, I am not confirming that's the way it was, but that's what's been indicated to us by the U.S. Navy," he said.

"Of course we still entertain hopes that there may be some information pertaining to the sonar system that may have been archived by the computer system," Hammerschmidt said.

"And for the record, we have also asked for copies of any internal audio communications in the submarine at the time of the accident," he added. "The Navy has not verified to us if such recordings exist."

Minor inconsistencies in stories

Hammerschmidt said the civilian interviews will be conducted over the next week, adding there was some initial "inconsistencies" between what submarine crew members told authorities and the broadcast account of the civilians.

"In the interview process, we have encountered a few roughly minor inconsistencies, and the more people you talk to and the more information you obtain, the clearer the picture becomes. It's very straightforward," he said.

At issue: whether the civilians' hands alone were on the controls alone or were they controlled by crew members.

"In a technical sense, they had their hands on control surfaces at the control station," Pietropaoli said. "In a real sense, they have a fully qualified, very interested watch-stander standing directly behind them over their shoulder, with their hands on your hands, ensuring that you don't have a sudden spasm and do something you should not do."

In an interview with MSNBC, Hammerschmidt with the NTSB posed the challenge of investigators this way:

"I think the key question is why did the submarine not detect the fishing vessel," he said. "In that regard, it boils down to about three areas: Was the equipment working properly? Was it employed properly? Thirdly, if the onboard equipment was presenting the correct information, then why didn't the crew react?"

Pietropaoli said civilians on the sub during the incident were invited aboard at the request of retired Navy Adm. Richard Macke, former commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific.

Macke was forced to take early retirement in 1995 after telling reporters that U.S. servicemen who had raped a Japanese schoolgirl on Okinawa earlier that year should have paid a prostitute instead.

"In this case, Admiral Macke did bring to the attention of the Submarine Force Pacific that a group of individuals from the Missouri Battleship Memorial Association were interested in getting out to see Navy submariners and our young sailors doing their job," said Pietropaoli.

CNN Correspondents Jamie McIntyre, Martin Savidge and Gary Tuchman and Reuters contributed to this report.

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USS Missouri Memorial - WWII Battleship
U.S. Coast Guard
Japanese Prime Minister
U.S. Navy
 • CINCPACFLT statement on the USS Greeneville incident
 • Commander Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet
 • USS Greeneville

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