Failed blowout preventer, a key piece of evidence in Gulf oil spill probe, secure on boat

FoxNews.com | AP

Published September 04, 2010

AP

In this image taken from video provided by BP PLC at 12:23 a.m. EDT, Saturday Sept. 4, 2010 Aug. 3, 2010 shows the blowout preventer that failed to stop oil from spewing into the Gulf of Mexico being raised to the surface. The blowout preventer wasn’t expected to reach the surface until Saturday, at which point government investigators will take possession of it.

ON THE GULF OF MEXICO –  A crane hoisted a key piece of oil spill evidence to the surface of the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday, giving investigators their first chance to personally scrutinize the blowout preventer, the massive piece of equipment that failed to stop the gusher four months ago.

It took 29½ hours to lift the 50-foot, 300-ton blowout preventer from a mile beneath the sea to the surface. The five-story high device breached the water’s surface at 6:54 p.m. CDT, and looked largely intact with black stains on the yellow metal.

FBI agents were among the 137 people aboard the Helix Q4000 vessel, taking photos and video of the device. They will escort it back to a NASA facility in Louisiana for analysis.

The AP was the only news outlet with a print reporter and photographer on board the ship.

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September 4, 2010 | Categories: America's Energy, Cloward and Piven Strategy, Corruption in Government, Energy and Oil, Media Corruption, New Media News, Science & Technology, The Economy | Tags: 11-workers killed, BP, Deepwater Horizon, failed blowout preventer, Gulf of Mexico, gulf oil spill, hydrolic leak, key piece of evidence, NASA, probe | Leave A Comment »