Ever since that fatal day, Ride the Ducks Seattle not only expected scrutiny, it welcomed it.
Now nearly three months after the deadly crash and after handing over 19 years' worth of safety records, procedures and e-mails to investigators, Ride the Ducks wants a second chance.
In an exclusive TV interview, Ducks CEO Brian Tracey said without another chance soon, the Seattle tourism institution may have to shutter its doors for good.
"All we can do is do everything humanly possible to make sure this never happens again," Tracey said.
But that's up to the state's UTC commissioners. During a hearing next week, they will decide whether Ride the Ducks will get a second chance.
"If they don't allow us or postpone the decision then we probably will go out of business," Tracey said.
Since the crash, the state suspended the Duck's operations and launched its own investigation, inspecting all 20 amphibious vehicles in the fleet and every safety-related record and procedure in the company's 19-year history, according to Tracey.
The CEO said most of his 130 employees have been laid off since the crash and are terrified the company may never reopen.
"I can't even begin to describe that, it's not only about, you know when you put your life's work into something and you hire great people, you don't even want to think about that happening, you can't," said a shaken and teary Tracey from a conference room inside the Ducks Nest, a Ballard warehouse where the Ride the Ducks fleet has sat motionless since the September crash.