The Ghorusda Disaster was an incident that took place in the 24th century between the Federation, represented by Captain Darson of the USS Adelphi, and the Ghorusdans.
On a first contact mission with Ghorusda, a cultural misunderstanding between the crew of the Adelphi and the Ghorusdans resulted in the deaths of 47 crew members, including Captain Darson. A Starfleet board of inquiry assigned blame for the incident to Darson for "carelessness about Ghorusdan cultural taboos." However, privately many (including Commander William T. Riker, who lost two friends from his class at Starfleet Academy) blamed first contact specialist Tam Elbrun for failing to warn Darson of the danger. On the other hand, Elbrun maintained that Darson was at fault for not heeding his advice, though he also admitted that he might have become too enmeshed in the Ghorusdan mindset and did not warn Darson as forcefully as he could have. (TNG: "Tin Man")
External link[]
- Ghorusda Disaster at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works