Some of tragic accidents have occurred in the Adirondack region.
Here is a list of the ten believed to have been among the deadliest:
The Ethan Allen Sinking (October 2, 2005) – Twenty people drown when the Lake George excursion boat Ethan Allen, hosting 49 senior citizens, flips and sinks while turning against a wave.
Spier Falls Dam Ferry Capsizes (1903) – Sixteen men and a young boy are drowned when a ferry carrying workers capsized on the Hudson River near the Spier Falls Dam (then under construction) in Moreau, Saratoga County. The ferry was overloaded after high water made a temporary bridge too dangerous to use.
Crash of Mohawk Airlines Flight 411 (November 19, 1969) – A twin prop-jet commuter plane (a Fairchild-Hiller 227, a.k.a. Fokker F-27) flying from La Guardia Airport in New York to Glens Falls in Warren County crashes on Pilot Knob at Lake George killing all 14 on board. The accident is blamed on downdrafts on the leeward side of the mountain.
Sinking of the Steamer Rachel (August 3, 1893) – The Lake George excursion steamer Rachel, chartered by more than twenty guests of the Fourteen Mile Island Hotel to take them to a dance at the Hundred Island House, is steered by an inexperienced captain into an old dock. A large hole is torn in the side of the boat below water line and twelve are killed – many caught on the shade deck as the boat listed and sank almost immediately.
The Burning of the John Jay (July 30, 1856) – The 140-feet long Lake George steamer John Jay, loaded with 70 passengers, catches fire near the Garfield House about ten miles south of Ticonderoga on Lake George. Five die trying to swim to shore to escape the flames. The fire is blamed on an overburdened soot-clogged smokestack – the crew had also kept an especially hot fire in the boiler in order to make up lost time.
Chazy Lake School Picnic Drownings (June 3, 1927) – Five students, one quarter of the Dannemora High School senior class, drown when their rowboat is swamped in a squall on Chazy Lake in Clinton County during an inter-class picnic. The only survivor is their teacher Emma Dunk, whose hand was caught in the boat keeping her above the cold water after she lost consciousness.
Greyhound Interstate Bus Crash (August 28, 2006) – Five passengers are killed when a Greyhound Bus Company’s bus No. 4014, traveling from New York City to Montreal, and making mid-afternoon stops in Albany and Saratoga Springs, overturns on the Northway (I-87) just before Exit 31 near Elizabethtown, Essex County.
Drownings at the Starbuckville Dam (1995-2005) – A dangerous back-flow whirlpool created by the dam’s design kills five swimmers at the Starbuckville Dam on the Schroon River over the course of ten years. The dam is finally rebuilt in 2005-2006.
Split Rock Falls Drownings (August 12, 2003) – Four teenagers, all ages 18 and 19, drowned at Split Rock Falls near Elizabethtown while on their day off from their jobs as camp counselors for a Minerva camp. When one fell into the water the other three tried to rescue him.
Border Patrol Checkpoint Accidents (February and September 2004) – In two separate accidents four are killed and more than 60 injured (four critically) when Canadian based buses fail to see a US Border Patrol checkpoint on Interstate 87 (the Northway) in Elizabethtown – poor signage is blamed.
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