National Transportation Safety Board investigators retrieved the onboard Voyage Data Recorder and stability computer to reconstruct the accident. Computer simulations revealed that while the crew believed their metacentric height was 2.45 meters, the actual GM was dangerously low, ranging between only 0.8 and 1.8 meters.
This drastic reduction in initial stability severely flattened the ship's GZ righting lever curve. With insufficient righting force, the vessel lost its ability to counter dynamic rolling forces during high-speed turns, dramatically lowering its angle of vanishing stability.
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