Two civilians were at controls of sub during collision

Worsening weather doesn't stop search for survivors off Hawaii

In this story: Japanese angered about civilian report Survivors describe final moments RELATED STORIES, SITES

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Two civilians were at two of the three control stations in a U.S. Navy nuclear submarine when it hit and sank a fishing trawler carrying Japanese students last week, CNN has learned.

Twenty-six people were rescued and nine are still missing following the accident.

Sources said a civilian guest was seated in the helm position, or the right-hand seat in the control room, from which the USS Greeneville's bow planes and rudder are controlled. Those controls govern the angle of ascent and the direction of the sub.

IN-DEPTH Collision at sea  • Key facts  • Waddle's statement  • Description of ascent maneuver  • Key players  • Civilians on board  • Images of sunken ship  • Court of Inquiry description  • Unofficial hearing transcript     AUDIO Hear the distress call issed by the Navy after the collision 1.7Mb/20 sec. AIFF or WAV sound (Transcript)    AUDIO CNN Military Affairs Correspondent Jamie McIntyre comments on procedures a sub should undertake before an emergency ascent 2500K/30 sec. AIFF or WAV sound     LINK Demonstration of a Navy submarine's emergency surface    VIDEO CNN's Marina Kamimura has more on Japanese reaction to the accident off the coast of Hawaii Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) Aerial video of the USS Greeneville reveals superficial damage to the submarine (February 10) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)    MESSAGE BOARD Sub collision     ALSO Collision latest setback to Japan-U.S. relations Japan PM under fire for playing golf as trawler sank Japanese officials, relatives express anger after submarine collision

A second civilian operated the ballast control mechanism, said a Pentagon source. The ballast control blasts water out of tanks in the submarine and pushes air into them, allowing the sub to rise. The source said the both civilians were under the close supervision of Navy personnel.

The third control station on a Los Angeles class submarine is a sonar station.

The Japanese 190-foot (57-meter) fishing vessel Ehime Maru was rammed by the 360-foot (110-meter) Greeneville last Friday off Hawaii. The Greeneville was conducting a drill in which the submarine dives to about 400 feet (120 meters) and then makes a rapid ascent.

Navy officials said it is routine to allow guests to experience the thrill of a rapid ascent, or "emergency blow," while holding the steering wheel, but only under the close and direct supervision of a qualified helmsman.

Pentagon officials insist the participation of the two civilians did not contribute in any way to the accident.

Retired Navy Captain Alec Fraser, CNN's military adviser, agreed with the Navy's stand, saying the person who normally controls the position is at one shoulder of the visitor and the diving officer is looking over the other shoulder.

"If they're a couple of degrees off, they will reach over their shoulder and control it in the right direction," Fraser said in describing how civilian guests were closely monitored.

Japanese angered about civilian report

The Navy has refused to release the names of the 15 civilians who were invited along on the cruise.

"I think that when we take guests on board, they do not automatically surrender their rights to privacy, and they've asked their names not be released and we're honoring that," said Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. Craig Quigley.

John Hammerschmidt of the National Transportation Safety Board said if his investigators interview civilians, their names will be part of public record.

Hammerschmidt, who is leading the investigation, said he only learned civilians were involved from news reports after investigators toured the sub Tuesday. But he said Navy officials said sailors usually manning the controls in question were not highly trained.

"We were told in this briefing of the control room that the individuals who control the yokes -- and therefore control the angle of the vessel -- usually are entry-level personnel," he said. "They take orders from someone else in the control room."

Hammerschmidt said the person giving such orders would be the diving officer of the watch, who would have eight to 10 years of experience. That officer and the sonar team were interviewed Tuesday.

Investigators were briefed about the sonar and periscope equipment but it is not known yet whether information from the equipment was recorded.

The news about civilians angered one of the crewmen of the sunken vessel.

"A civilian wouldn't know what to do (at the controls)," said Ryoichi Miya, first mate of the Ehime Maru. "I don't know if the emergency surfacing was a drill or what, but it's absolutely unforgivable if a civilian was operating it," he said, his voice rising in anger.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Coast Guard said that while worsening weather conditions were not ideal, it was good enough to allow rescuers to continue searching for the nine people still missing from the Japanese fishing trawler. Navy officials said the search will go on as long as there is a possibility of survivors being found.

Nine surviving students from the Uwajima Fisheries High School returned to Japan on Tuesday after talking to U.S. investigators.

A chartered ship takes family members of those missing from the Ehime Maru to the collision site

The National Transportation Safety Board said investigators will soon begin checking sonar and periscope equipment employed by the submarine, as well as interviewing several members of the U.S. crew to determine why the collision happened.

U.S. President George W. Bush apologized for the accident during a 10-minute call to Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, the White House said.

"The president expressed his regrets and apologized for the accident and said the United States would do all it can to be of assistance to the Japanese government and the Japanese people," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Tuesday.

Previously, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and U.S. Ambassador Thomas Foley have extended condolences for the trawler's sinking.

Bush's call came as Japanese Foreign Minister Yohei Kono said there was "no excuse" for the accident and that he was not yet satisfied with the situation. But he added, "I consider the attitudes of the president, state secretary and defense secretary and the instructions being carried out under their guidance are sincere."

However, he also said that at this point he cannot say that he has reached a point of satisfaction with the situation, since there are many tasks that are left to be done.

Meanwhile, the Navy ship USS Salvor, which had been used in the search and rescue, will become part of the salvage effort about 10 miles (16 kilometers) off Honolulu where the Ehime Maru, which sank in about 1,800 feet (550 meters) of water.

"We don't know," Quigley told reporters when asked whether the Navy would eventual be able to raise the ship at Japan's request. "It would depend on the condition of the vessel itself ... we don't know the extent of damage to the hull."

The Navy plans to survey the site with a remote operated vehicle (ROV) known as "Super Scorpio" and a side-scan sonar unit. Another ROV known as the Deep Drone is coming from the East Coast and is still being made ready for transit.

Survivors describe final moments

The students rescued from life rafts after the collision described frightening moments as they tried to make their way to successively higher decks to escape rising water on the ship, a U.S. investigator said Tuesday.

The Japanese fishing training vessel was moving at normal cruising speed, about 11 knots, when students said "suddenly it felt quite a shudder," National Transportation Safety Board member John Hammerschmidt said.

The Greeneville's tail fin shows damage

"In fact, they reported two loud noises. At the time of the second loud noise, all the power in the vessel went off and the vessel began to take on water," Hammerschmidt said.

He said students reported oil and water rising from the stairwell into about the middle deck of the Ehime Maru, where most of the students were. Students reported they continued to go to higher decks, he said, before making their way to life rafts.

"A couple of students indicated they were sucked down into the water by the force of the sinking vessel," he said.

The trawler's captain, Hisao Onishi, told investigators that he saw no sign of the Greeneville "until he felt that he hit something, something hit the vessel," Hammerschmidt added.

Rescuers plucked 26 of the Ehime Maru's 35 passengers and crew from the ocean after the collision, which occurred as the Greeneville attempted an emergency surfacing maneuver. But the U.S. Coast Guard and Navy searchers have found no sign of the four 17-year-old fisheries students, two teachers and three crew members still missing.

Reunion at fishing school

The nine students who were among the 26 people rescued from life rafts were reunited with families, friends and teachers at the Uwajima Fisheries High School in Japan on Monday. The teens appeared sad and tired after their long trip home.

"Half of the kids are complaining about insomnia," said teacher Shunichiro Toya. "Some are still suffering from nausea and skin rashes."

Some survivors had swallowed diesel fuel while adrift in the Pacific.

Before the survivors arrived, their fellow students at the Uwajima school, about 670 kilometers (420 miles) southwest of Tokyo, prayed for their missing friends and instructors Tuesday.

It was the first day back in class since the accident, and Vice Principal Kazumitsu Joko told the students that he realized that even now, the events that had happened were "unbelievable" and extremely "painful."

Ehime Prefectural officials told CNN that most of the 17 crewmembers who were rescued after the incident will soon be flying home. All surviving crewmembers except for two, including the captain, Hisao Onishi, are scheduled to arrive at Tokyo's Narita Airport on Thursday.

Uwajima Fisheries High school students arrive at Kansai International airport in Osaka, Japan on Tuesday

Trawler sank within minutes

The 360-foot (110-meter) Greeneville was practicing an emergency surfacing maneuver when it struck the vessel. The Ehime Maru sank within minutes.

The maneuver brings the sub to the surface with great force, and its crew is supposed to take several steps to make sure the area is clear before attempting the emergency ascent.

After listening with passive sonar for any ships overhead, the submarine is supposed to come up to periscope depth to survey the horizon for an eight- to 10-mile radius. The crew must plot the location, course and speed of any surface ships.

The submarine then dives to about 400 feet (125 meters), blows its ballast and quickly surfaces at an angle of about 25 degrees.

NTSB officials said the Greeneville made two periscope sweeps before attempting the move, but could not answer why the crew did not see the Japanese ship.

CNN Military Affairs Correspondent Jamie McIntyre and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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U.S. Coast Guard
Japanese Prime Minister
U.S. Navy
 • Commander Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet
 • USS Greeneville

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