Representatives of both companies declined to comment on Mongeluzzi's accusations, saying the National Transportation Safety Board was still investigating.
A spokesman for the NTSB said Friday that its on-site investigation would likely conclude this weekend, but that a final report could be 18 months away. Interim reports, including initial findings and transcripts of interviews, could be released sooner, said Keith Holloway.
The amphibious Duck 34 had anchored in the shipping channel of the Delaware River after its engine failed, and was struck about 15 minutes later.
That crash sent the duck's 35 passengers and two crew members into the water. Hungarian tourists Dora Schwendtner, 16, and Szabolcs Prem, 20, drowned. Each was an only child.
"The families are just devastated," Mongeluzzi said minutes before leaving his Center City law office for a flight to Hungary to meet with the parents.
Mongeluzzi is a prominent litigation lawyer whose clients have included the families of victims in the Pier 34 nightclub collapse of 2000, in which three people died and dozens were plunged into the Delaware. The case was settled for $30 million.
He said he would serve as co-counsel with the New York firm of Ronai & Ronai, also hired by the Schwendtner and Prem families.
Prem was evidently caught in or under the 31-foot vessel after it sank near Penn's Landing. Schwendtner's body was found about two miles south, apparently carried by the strong current. Neither was wearing a life jacket; some other passengers donned theirs moments before the crash.
That the duck's engine and signal horn both failed that afternoon suggests maintenance was not adequate, said Mongeluzzi, adding, "We'll also be looking at the issue of design. Vessels, when capsized, should not immediately plunge to the bottom of the river."
