(CNN)For the first time since two people died in the terrifying sinking of the Bounty in Hurricane Sandy, federal officials Monday pointed fingers at what likely caused the disaster. Bounty Capt. Robin Walbridge's "reckless decision to sail ... into the well-forecast path of Hurricane Sandy" was the probable cause of the tall ship's October 2012 sinking off the coast of North Carolina, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a report released Monday. The ship, carrying 16 crew members, flipped sideways in heavy seas and high winds, spilling everyone into the Atlantic. Walbridge, 63, was never found and is presumed dead; deckhand Claudene Christian -- a 42-year-old rookie -- died after Coast Guard rescuers were unable to revive her.
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Bounty survivor: Captain should have ordered crew to abandon ship 4 hours sooner
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First report by federal investigators blames HMS Bounty sinking on captain and ship owners
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Captain went missing after shipwreck; deckhand Claudene Christian died in the disaster
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Lawyer for victim's family says her parents are "not doing well at all"
The NTSB report -- and a similar investigation report expected to be released by the @placeholder -- could lead to  changes in rules governing how attraction vessels like the Bounty are inspected for safety.
Ten of @placeholder's crew members had been aboard for less than a year -- including two who had joined less than a month before the sinking.