as the collision occurred, many passengers who had not braced for impact were thrown to the floor. eyewitness accounts of the incident mention that some passengers were thrown against glass doors and windows while others appeared to be thrown into the air by the force of the collision. some passengers appeared to be emotionally disturbed by the incident and were observed weeping after the collision. because the terminal's shore side transition bridge was free-floating, it is believed that the bridge absorbed some of the collision's energy. as a result of the impact, the transition bridge was lifted to a high of 5 feet above "andrew j. barberi"’s main deck and shifted back into a security fence. in the terminal, passengers waiting to embark described the collision as earthquake-like, shaking the entire building. some passengers in the terminal began to run, fearing the vessel would break through the building. once the vessel came to rest, the assistant captain input a no-pitch, or neutral, command into the propulsion units.