Why did the Edmund Fitzgerald sink?

Gallery: Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald ... LAKE SUPERIOR -- Nobody really knows what caused the Edmond Fitzgerald to sink, but that sure hasn't stopped people from trying to solve the mystery. ... The Coast Guard cited reports of damage to the Fitzgerald's hatches that were planned for winter repair. read more

Ex-Fitzgerald crew member George Burgner claimed in a deposition that unrepaired cracks and weakened metal on the ship caused the loss, according to the"Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" by Fred Stonehouse. read more

SS Edmund Fitzgerald was an American Great Lakes freighter that sank in a Lake Superior storm on November 10, 1975, with the loss of the entire crew of 29. When launched on June 7, 1958, she was the largest ship on North America's Great Lakes, and she remains the largest to have sunk there. read more

Why the Edmund Fitzgerald sank. In some ways the seas during the worst storms on the Great Lakes are more difficult than what ships would encounter in the open ocean. This is due to the “Bathtub Effect” that produces oscillating waves which collide with each other from two or more directions. read more