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Accidents associated with recreational boating in the United States result in more than 800 fatalities annually. The analysis and reconstruction of these accidents is a complex process due to many non-reproducible factors uniquely associated with water transportation. This paper reports the results of research regarding recreational boating accident patterns and factors. The approaches and techniques used for reconstruction purposes are presented. Marine accident reconstruction and investigation draws from the techniques typically utilized in other areas of transportation equipment. To date, a limited amount of information concerning marine accident reconstruction/analysis exists. This paper is an overview of the various factors, considerations, and special techniques which may be useful in marine (recreational) accident analysis.

Accident investigation involves the collection of relevant data from many sources. Frequently, information exists in the form of accident photographs of objects that are no longer available for examination or direct measurement. The use of close-range photogrammetry can be an effective tool in the utilization of these photographs. In this paper, a case study accident investigation is described where stereo photogrammetry was applied to develop information for further analysis and testing.