Northeast Regional 188 - Accident In Philadelphia

I just want to point out that I'm very interested in reading the report to get the cold facts; I saw yesterday morning that all the major news outlets were making a big deal that an early leak from the NTSB said "Engineer distracted by a....RADIO!" like its not normal to have one of those in the cab...

Everyone:

The Philadelphia Inquirer has been running a series of articles about the Train 188 wreck one year later.
Link: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/Amtra ... later.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I posted this link since no one else has - it looks like an interesting read in itself. The writer is Jason Laughlin.

I second all of our moderators and will not speculate in any way concerning this topic and look forward to reading the NTSB's report of the Amtrak 188 derailment.

MACTRAXX

For those with availability, the NTSB webcast will start at 9:30am Eastern @ http://ntsb.capitolconnection.org/


http://www.ntsb.gov/news/events/Pages/2 ... k-BMG.aspx

The National Transportation Safety Board will determine the probable cause of the May 2015 fatal Amtrak derailment in Philadelphia during a board meeting scheduled for May 17, 2016.

On May 12, 2015, at 9:21 pm ET, northbound Amtrak passenger train no. 188 derailed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, after entering a curve at 106 mph where the speed is restricted to 50 mph. The locomotive and all seven passenger cars derailed. Eight passengers were killed and more than 200 others were transported to area hospitals.

Event: Board Meeting
Date/Time: Tuesday, May 17, 2016, 9:30 a.m. ET
Location: NTSB Board Room and Conference Center
Address: 429 L’Enfant Plaza SW, Washington, DC
Participants: NTSB Board members

Live Webcast: A link to the webcast will be available on the following page shortly before the start of the meeting: http://ntsb.capitolconnection.org/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Related information: http://go.usa.gov/cutDW" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

AgentSkelly wrote:...all the major news outlets were making a big deal that an early leak from the NTSB said "Engineer distracted by a....RADIO!" like its not normal to have one of those in the cab...

That was my first impression as well.

Times

Fair Use:

An Amtrak train derailed in Philadelphia last year when its engineer became distracted and entered a curve at more than 50 miles an hour over the speed limit, the National Transportation Safety Board said on Tuesday.

Journal

Fair Use:

The engineer operating an Amtrak train that derailed in Philadelphia last year, killing eight passengers, lost “situational awareness” just before the crash, National Transportation Safety Board investigators said Tuesday.

Safety board investigators also highlighted concerns about the railcar windows, which popped out during the wreck, ejecting four passengers who died. The crash also injured more than 200 people, including crew members.

In the derailment, New York-bound Amtrak train No. 188 was traveling at 106 miles an hour, twice the speed limit, through a tight curve in an area known as Frankford Junction.

Investigators said they concluded the train’s engineer, Brandon Bostian, was distracted by radio transmissions about an emergency involving a nearby commuter train that had been struck by a rock, shattering the locomotive’s windshield.

By the time Mr. Bostian accelerated the Amtrak train just before the crash, “he had lost situational awareness, an awareness of where he currently was, and believed that he was at a location farther down the track where it was appropriate to accelerate his train to 106 mph,” NTSB investigator Stephen Jenner told safety board members at a meeting to discuss the crash

Addendum 1100A CT; the Board still remains in session addressing various Technical Amendments to their Report.

List of 13 proposed findings from the NTSB.
Please excuse any typo's, as this text is from the Closed Caption of the webcast.


CHAIRMAN HART: [...] WE WILL NOW COMMENCE WITH THE DELIBERATIONS BY THE BOARD. MANAGER AND DIRECTOR ZOELLER, PLEASE READ THE PROPOSED FINDINGS.

>> AS A RESULT OF THIS INVESTIGATION, THE STAFF PROPOSES 13 FINDINGS.
1 -- NONE OF THE FOLLOWING WAS A FACTOR IN THIS ACCIDENT, MECHANICAL CONDITION OF THE TRAIN, A FOREIGN OBJECT STRIKING A LOCOMOTIVE, THE CONDITION OF THE TRACK, THE WEATHER, MEDICAL CONDITIONS OF AMTRAK ENGINEER, ALCOHOL OR OTHER DRUGS, OR ANY OTHER TYPE OF IMPAIRMENT, CELL PHONE USE, AND FATIGUE.
2 -- THE AMTRAK ENGINEER INITIALLY ACCELERATED HIS TRAIN TO A HIGH RATE OF SPEED IN A MANNER CONSISTENT WITH HOW HE HABITUALLY MANIPULATED THE CONTROLS WHEN ACCELERATING TO A TARGET SPEED, SUGGESTING THAT HE WAS ACTIVELY OPERATING THE TRAIN RATHER THAN INCAPACITATED MOMENTS BEFORE THE ACCIDENT.
3 -- THE AMTRAK ENGINEER ACCELERATED THE TRAIN TO 106 MILES PER HOUR WITHOUT SLOWING THE TRAIN DUE TO A CURVE AT FRANKFORD JUNCTION . IT WAS LIKELY HIS ATTENTION WAS DIVERTED.
4 -- TRAINING FOCUSES ON CREW MEMBER ATTENTION MAY HELP OPERATING CREWS BECOME AWARE OF AND TAKE MEASURES TO AVOID ERRORS DUE TO MEMORY FAILURE.
5 -- CAP SIGNAL PROTECTION TO ENFORCE THE 50 MILE PER HOUR SPEED RESTRICTION AN EASTBOUND DIRECTION OF FRANKFORD JUNCTION FOR A FULLY IMPLEMENTED POSITIVE TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEM WOULD'VE PREVENTED THE ACCIDENT.
6 -- THE FRA ACCIDENT DATABASE IS ADEQUATE FOR PREPARING RELEVANT ACCIDENT DATA RATES BASED ON CREW SIZE BECAUSE THE INFORMATION ABOUT ACCIDENT CIRCUMSTANCES AND THE NUMBER OF CONTROLLING CAP IS INSUFFICIENT.
7 -- IF THE PASSENGER CAR WINDOWS HAVE REMAIN INTACT AND SECURED IN THE CARS, SOME PASSENGERS WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN INJECTED AND WOULD HAVE LIKELY SURVIVE THE ACCIDENT.
8 -- PASSENGERS WERE SERIOUSLY INJURED BY BEING THROWN FROM THE SEATS WHEN THE PASSENGER CARS OVERTURNED.
9 -- ALTHOUGH THE PASSENGER SAFETY STANDARDS AND TITLE 49 OF CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS PART 238 PROVIDE SOME LEVEL OF PROTECTION FOR OCCUPANTS, THE CURRENT REQUIREMENTS ARE NOT ADEQUATE TO ENSURE THAT OCCUPANTS ARE PROTECTED IN SOME TYPES OF ACCIDENTS.
10 -- MATCHING PATIENT ARRIVAL AT HOSPITALS IS CRUCIAL TO ENSURING OPTIONAL CARE CAN BE PROVIDED FOR ALL PATIENTS.
11 -- AS A RESULT OF VICTIMS BEING TRANSPORTED TO HOSPITALS WITHOUT COURT NATION, SOME HOSPITALS WERE OVER UTILIZED ALL OTHERS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY UNDERUTILIZED DUE TO THE RESPONSE OF THE DERAILMENT.
12 -- TRANSPORTATION BY POLICE AND OTHER VEHICLES IN A MASS CASUALTY INCIDENT MAY BE A REASONABLE USE OF RESOURCES.
13 -- CURRENT PHILADELPHIA POLICE DEPARTMENT, FIRE DEPARTMENT, AN OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT POLICIES WERE NOT INTEGRATED. -- AND STILL ARE NOT INTEGRATED.

CHAIRMAN HART: THANK YOU FOR I'M NOT AWARE OF ANY PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE FINDINGS. IS THERE A MOTION TO AMEND? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, SIGNAL WITH A HAND. THE VOTE IS 4-0 IN FAVOR OF ADOPTING THE FINDINGS.

The Probable Cause as passed by the NTSB 3-1
Please excuse any typo's, as this text is from the Closed Caption of the webcast.

THE NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD DETERMINES THE PROBABLE CAUSE OF THE ACCIDENT WAS THE ENGINEER'S ACCELERATION TO 106 MILES PER HOUR AS THEY ENTERED A CURVE WITH A 50 MILE-PER-HOUR SPEED RESTRICTION DUE TO HIS LOSS OF SITUATIONAL AWARENESS, LIKELY BECAUSE HIS ATTENTION WAS DIVERTED TO AN EMERGENCY SITUATION WITH ANOTHER TRAIN. CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WAS THE LACK OF A POSITIVE TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEM. CONTRIBUTING TO THE SEVERITY OF THE INJURIES WAS THE INADEQUATE REQUIREMENTS FOR OCCUPANT PROTECTION IN THE EVENT OF A TRAIN OVERTURNING.

Adjourned 1111A CT

CONTRIBUTING TO THE SEVERITY OF THE INJURIES WAS THE INADEQUATE REQUIREMENTS FOR OCCUPANT PROTECTION IN THE EVENT OF A TRAIN OVERTURNING.

Which makes me wonder: will the FRA bureaucrats now demand that passenger rail operators install seat belts in coaches? I'm not aware of any passenger rail system anywhere in the world that uses them.

TomNelligan wrote:

CONTRIBUTING TO THE SEVERITY OF THE INJURIES WAS THE INADEQUATE REQUIREMENTS FOR OCCUPANT PROTECTION IN THE EVENT OF A TRAIN OVERTURNING.

Which makes me wonder: will the FRA bureaucrats now demand that passenger rail operators install seat belts in coaches? I'm not aware of any passenger rail system anywhere in the world that uses them.

It was listed in the conference.

TomNelligan wrote:Which makes me wonder: will the FRA bureaucrats now demand that passenger rail operators install seat belts in coaches? I'm not aware of any passenger rail system anywhere in the world that uses them.

I don't think so because the accident was preventable by PTC. I do think they may consider interior designs that use luggage compartments with doors in order to reduce the injury rate in the event of a rollover. The window blowouts are a serious issue in my mind. This may be the beginning of the end for the Amfleet cars.

From their tone and discussion I don't believe they will go that far, as they were saying that there could need to be a redesign in the seats, or even the floor in order to adequately retrain people in seats. They may of spent 3 minutes talking about it total (in questions), and likewise they spent only about 3 minutes talking about flying luggage as projectiles and how the Amfleet can control luggage in lateral movements while upright. They spent more time on window design and size, in regards to mounting hardware, gaskets and other window like topics since window separation & passengers ejected from the railcar contributed to 4 deaths here in Philly, and 4 deaths in the Metro North Bronx accident. I did not notice the NTSB mentioning the smaller size of the amfleet windows, and extraction of people through windows vs. the size of newer larger windows.

One of the incident response things that intrigued me is Philly is unique in that they can use Police to drive people to the ER in the case of an accident (like a shooting, or a stabbing). They did it as well with this incident, and the timing of using this method got some of the earliest victims to advanced medical care at approximately the same minute as the "medical command center" was up and running. Being a Philly native, I took that to be routine whenever I heard about it on the news, but it made it to their findings in a positive light. - finding #12 below.

nomis wrote:They spent more time on window design and size, in regards to mounting hardware, gaskets and other window like topics since window separation & passengers ejected from the railcar contributed to 4 deaths here in Philly, and 4 deaths in the Metro North Bronx accident. I did not notice the NTSB mentioning the smaller size of the amfleet windows, and extraction of people through windows vs. the size of newer larger windows.

So you got the sense that they feel this problem can be addressed by improving the window hardware?

Have all the cars and engines been fully repaired, or are they sitting in a lot being investigated?

engine is impounded as are most cars, no one can touch them till NTSB, FRA and legal dept are 100% done with them.