Amtrak derailment (1 Viewer)

[Chadstroma]

The projectile issue explains a lot actually. It was hard to explain why the train sped up so fast in such a short period of time without any other factor. But I certainly can see a panicked engineer pushing the throttle and ducking down because he thinks he is going shot at while not keeping in mind of speed limits or an upcoming bend in the tracks. It certainly seems like the most plausible explanation of why what we know happened, happened. At least so far.

 

[Dr Oadi]

FBI investigates report that projectile hit windshield of Amtrak train moments before crash ...as it's revealed TWO other trains were also struck that night

• Conductor on derailed train said she overheard Amtrak Train 188 engineer Brandon Bostian report on the radio that his train was hit in the windshield
• Moments later, at 9.21pm on Tuesday, the train derailed killing eight
• At 9.05pm Tuesday, a different Amtrack train reported being struck in a window by an unknown object
• At 9.10pm Tuesday, a northbound SEPTA regional rail train reported it had been 'hit by a rock or shot at' in the windshield
• All three incidents happened within a few miles of 30th Street Station along the same stretch of track outside Philadelphia
• FBI investigating damage to the 'left hand lower portion' of the windshield on the derailed Amtrak Train 188
• Officials say there is no evidence the three incidents are connected - or that they had anything to do with the derailment

This is a common occurrence for trains to get hit by objects and suffer windshield damage?

AND it causes the train to derail?

projectile hits guy on head. Guy falls on speedmathingy.

Train speeds up.

Train derails.

ISIS!

 

[MaxThreshold]

The projectile issue explains a lot actually. It was hard to explain why the train sped up so fast in such a short period of time without any other factor. But I certainly can see a panicked engineer pushing the throttle and ducking down because he thinks he is going shot at while not keeping in mind of speed limits or an upcoming bend in the tracks. It certainly seems like the most plausible explanation of why what we know happened, happened. At least so far.

Plausible? Sure. Likely? I'm not buying it.

So he falls on the thing and doesn't realize it? doesn't say to himself, "oh ####, i better push the lever back DOWN to slow down"? On top of that, it's not as if the train is suddenly going to reach 106 mph instantly. Trains take time to build up to that speed so it's not like he didn't have any time to fix the problem.

I'm thinking it's an excuse to cover up the real reason - like maybe he fell asleep at the wheel. Or was too busy surfing pron on his iPhone. Whatever.

 

[joetrow]

The projectile issue explains a lot actually. It was hard to explain why the train sped up so fast in such a short period of time without any other factor. But I certainly can see a panicked engineer pushing the throttle and ducking down because he thinks he is going shot at while not keeping in mind of speed limits or an upcoming bend in the tracks. It certainly seems like the most plausible explanation of why what we know happened, happened. At least so far.

If, when the going gets tough, you're gonna #### your pants, then you have no business being in a career where individuals lives are in your hands. Doesn't justify a thing IMO.

 

[Bottomfeeder Sports]

I can't believe there is a lawsuit already. They haven't even freaking cleared the line yet but the lawyers are tripping over themselves to get their money.

I'm not linking the Tweet (go to ACAsignups if you really care) but...

Attorney Chad at 514-xxx-xxxx can handle Amtrak settlement at low 20% fee, not the typical 40-45%

 

[Apple Jack]

kids throwing rocks at trains? can totally see it. that being the explanation (not justification)? doubt it.

 

[3C's]

kids throwing rocks at trains? can totally see it. that being the explanation (not justification)? doubt it.

Teen with a pellet gun. Could definitely see it.

 

[avoiding injuries]

I would think the conductor would slow down the train after the windshield was hit, not accelerate.

 

[3C's]

I would think the conductor would slow down the train after the windshield was hit, not accelerate.

Just looking for a reason it could have been a result of the windshield hit:

If he panicked and dropped down out of the way, and had his hand on the throttle to slow down but instead pushed it toward full speed it would have accelerated. Info shows he hit the emergency brake to slow the train down right before it hit the curve.

'The throttle of the locomotive that Bostian was operating has eight settings, with each click forward accelerating the train, said Charles Culver, a certified conductor and engineer based in Texas who is not connected to the investigation.

Culver said it does not take much force to move the throttle forward and it was possible the engineer could have fallen and moved the throttle. Passenger trains, unlike freight trains, can increase speed rapidly, he said.

"In order to increase the speed as much as it was increased in this case, you would have had to really, really move the throttle," Culver said.'

 

[MaxThreshold]

kids throwing rocks at trains? can totally see it. that being the explanation (not justification)? doubt it.

Teen with a pellet gun. Could definitely see it.

Rocks? Pellet Guns? No one predicted or planned for this at all? It never occurred to anyone in ANY planning or training session that, hey, what if someone throws something at the train?

So maybe the plan was to panic and hit the accelerator?

 

[Jack White]

kids throwing rocks at trains? can totally see it. that being the explanation (not justification)? doubt it.

Teen with a pellet gun. Could definitely see it.

Rocks? Pellet Guns? No one predicted or planned for this at all? It never occurred to anyone in ANY planning or training session that, hey, what if someone throws something at the train?

So maybe the plan was to panic and hit the accelerator?

Saw on one of the Sunday Morning shows that items hit the windshield along that stretch of track "two or three times a week."

 

[dal_boys_phan]

Wouldn't one of the passengers have reported a sudden acceleration?

In the news reports I heard, everyone said they thought they were moving really quick but no one complained of a sudden acceleration, only the sudden breaking.

 

[3C's]

Wouldn't one of the passengers have reported a sudden acceleration?

In the news reports I heard, everyone said they thought they were moving really quick but no one complained of a sudden acceleration, only the sudden breaking.

Their video shows the train accelerated from 70 to over 100 just before the emergency brake and derail.

 

[3C's]

kids throwing rocks at trains? can totally see it. that being the explanation (not justification)? doubt it.

Teen with a pellet gun. Could definitely see it.

Rocks? Pellet Guns? No one predicted or planned for this at all? It never occurred to anyone in ANY planning or training session that, hey, what if someone throws something at the train?

So maybe the plan was to panic and hit the accelerator?

Have they planned for someone doing the same to cars? Planes? There was a rash of idiots pointing laser lights at plane cockpits. Have they planned around that? Hard to 100% plan around dumbasses doing stupid ####.

 

[MaxThreshold]

kids throwing rocks at trains? can totally see it. that being the explanation (not justification)? doubt it.

Teen with a pellet gun. Could definitely see it.

Rocks? Pellet Guns? No one predicted or planned for this at all? It never occurred to anyone in ANY planning or training session that, hey, what if someone throws something at the train?

So maybe the plan was to panic and hit the accelerator?

Have they planned for someone doing the same to cars? Planes? There was a rash of idiots pointing laser lights at plane cockpits. Have they planned around that? Hard to 100% plan around dumbasses doing stupid ####.

You think launching rocks at moving objects is a relatively new phenomena?

You don't think anyone ever asked the question of "what do i do if someone throws a rock at my train"? You think the answer was "panic and accelerate"?

Seriously, if someone threw a rock at my car my first instinct would be to SLOW DOWN AND STOP to asses the damage. But, then again, my car isn't a 120 ton steel case on wheels either so in a car the protection is quite a bit less.

 

[3C's]

kids throwing rocks at trains? can totally see it. that being the explanation (not justification)? doubt it.

Teen with a pellet gun. Could definitely see it.

Rocks? Pellet Guns? No one predicted or planned for this at all? It never occurred to anyone in ANY planning or training session that, hey, what if someone throws something at the train?

So maybe the plan was to panic and hit the accelerator?

Have they planned for someone doing the same to cars? Planes? There was a rash of idiots pointing laser lights at plane cockpits. Have they planned around that? Hard to 100% plan around dumbasses doing stupid ####.

You think launching rocks at moving objects is a relatively new phenomena?

You don't think anyone ever asked the question of "what do i do if someone throws a rock at my train"? You think the answer was "panic and accelerate"?

Seriously, if someone threw a rock at my car my first instinct would be to SLOW DOWN AND STOP to asses the damage. But, then again, my car isn't a 120 ton steel case on wheels either so in a car the protection is quite a bit less.

I think if a projectile comes at your vehicle fast enough to break the window your first reaction is to flinch. Not sure what "planning" there would be to counter a natural reaction.

 

[TheIronSheik]

Last I heard was that the authorities have ruled out the projectiles having anything to do with the crash (they say it happens all of the time) and that "human error" was the cause of the crash.

 

[JerseyToughGuys]

.

 

[Dr Oadi]

Last I heard was that the authorities have ruled out the projectiles having anything to do with the crash (they say it happens all of the time) and that "human error" was the cause of the crash.

Was there any doubt?

 

[3C's]

Last I heard was that the authorities have ruled out the projectiles having anything to do with the crash (they say it happens all of the time) and that "human error" was the cause of the crash.

Was there any doubt?

Yes

 

[TheIronSheik]

Heard them say on the news this morning that the technology that slows trains in turns has been around for over 25 years. F'n Republicans.

 

[culdeus]

They any closer on this or what?

 

[Parrothead]

Heard them say on the news this morning that the technology that slows trains in turns has been around for over 25 years. F'n Republicans.

brakes?

 

[RC94]

Latest update: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ntsb-clears-amtrak-engineer-of-phone-use-during-philadelphia-crash/

NTSB releases phone record findings in Amtrak crashLast Updated Jun 10, 2015 1:02 PM EDT
WASHINGTON - Accident investigators said Wednesday they do not believe the engineer driving an Amtrak train was using his cellphone in the moments before the train derailed in Philadelphia last month, killing eight people and injured about 200 more.

In a statement, the National Transportation Safety Board said: "Analysis of the phone records does not indicate that any calls, texts, or data usage occurred during the time the engineer was operating the train. Amtrak's records confirm that the engineer did not access the train's Wi-Fi system while he was operating the locomotive."

NTSB investigators have said previously that the train accelerated to 106 miles per hour in the last minute before entering a curve where the speed limit is 50 mph. In the last few seconds the brakes were applied with maximum force, but the train was still traveling at over 100 mph when it left the tracks.

Congress has been pressing the safety board for answers to the key question of whether engineer Brandon Bostian was using his phone. Bostian suffered a head injury in the crash, and his attorney has said the engineer doesn't remember anything after the train pulled out of Philadelphia's 30th Street Station, the last stop before the derailment.

Engineers aren't allowed to use phones while operating trains or preparing them for movement, but determining whether Bostian was using the phone is a complicated process.

Bostian provided investigators with his passcode to the phone, allowing them access to the data without having to go through the phone manufacturers, the NTSB said.

At a Senate commerce committee hearing on train safety later Wednesday, NTSB board member Bella Dinh-Zarr said that while investigators have ruled out the most obvious uses of the phone before the crash, they have not ruled out some other possible uses such as use of an app.

To determine whether the phone was in "airplane mode" or was powered off, investigators in NTSB's laboratory have been examining the phone's operating system, which contains more than 400,000 files of metadata.

Investigators are also obtaining a phone identical to the engineer's phone and will be running additional tests to validate the data.

The phone was used to make calls and send text messages the day of the accident, but inconsistencies in phone records presented difficulties, NTSB Chairman Chris Hart told Congress last week. The voice and text messages were recorded in different time zones and may not have been calibrated to the exact time as other equipment on the train, such as a camera focused on the tracks and a recorder that registers how fast the train was moving and actions by the engineer, he said

Accident investigators have said previously that they have not found any mechanical problems with the train. The track had been inspected not long before the crash.

Later Wednesday, NTSB officials are expected to testify before the Senate Commerce Committee about train safety. One focus of the hearing is positive train control, a technology that can prevent trains from derailing because of excessive speed.

Congress mandated in 2008 that Amtrak, commuter railroads and freight railroads install positive train control by the end of this year. Amtrak still has to do extensive testing of the system but will meet the deadline, officials have said.

 

[George Jefferson Airplane]

They any closer on this or what?

The guy driving the train was also the pilot of the missing Malaysian Air flight.