Police investigating the deaths of a father and his daughter in a speedboat accident in Cornwall have said a "kill cord" device is a key focus.
A kill cord attaches to the boat's throttle and driver so if the driver goes overboard the engine cuts out.
BSkyB sales boss Nick Milligan, 51, and his eight-year-old daughter Emily were thrown from the boat in the Camel Estuary, off Padstow, on Sunday.
Four other family members struck by the boat were taken to hospital.
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Video shot by a witness showed the moment the speedboat was brought under control
Police said Mr Milligan's 39-year-old wife Victoria and their four-year-old son Kit remain in hospital with "serious, potentially life changing injuries", while their two other daughters Amber, 12, and Olivia, 10, suffered minor injuries in the accident.
End Quote Matt Pavitt North Cornwall coastguardsWithout doubt, without his [Mr Toogood's] intervention, we could have been dealing with a far more serious situation"
The injured family members were hit by the 8m (26ft)-long Cobra rigid inflatable boat (rib) - which can reach speeds of about 50mph (80km/h) - while it was going round in circles.
The boat, which belongs to the family, who are from Wandsworth in south London, was stopped after a local waterskiing instructor Charlie Toogood jumped on board.
Mr Milligan had been managing director of Sky's advertising sales division, Sky Media, since 2004.
Fitting the kill cord has been standard practice by manufacturers for many years, said Richard Falk, training manager and chief examiner at the Royal Yachting Association (RYA).
"It is possible for the operator, the driver of the boat, to connect the kill cord to the throttle so the engine will work but they don't connect it to themselves.
"If they then move away from that throttle or steering position the engine won't cut out," he said.
'Heroic efforts'He said he could not comment on the Padstow incident, but where a kill cord was not operating properly and a driver went overboard the prospect of a power boat turning in circles as it did in the Padstow tragedy was a rare "worst case scenario".
Police and coastguards praised "brave and heroic" efforts made by Mr Toogood and other local people to rescue the family.
Mr Toogood, from Camel Ski School, leapt on to the runaway speedboat and brought it under control after going alongside in another vessel.
He has declined to talk about the incident.
Matt Pavitt, coastguard sector manager for North Cornwall, said: "Without doubt, without his [Mr Toogood's] intervention, we could have been dealing with a far more serious situation."
Supt Jim Colwell, of Devon and Cornwall Police, said a mechanical examination of the boat had taken place, carried out by forensic experts and Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) inspectors to identify the cause of the "sad and tragic" incident.
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