Amtrak CEO Testifies; NTSB Preliminary Report Released On Crash
WASHINGTON, DC (WJZ) -- Eight people killed, including three with ties to Maryland, after a speeding Amtrak train goes off the tracks in Philadelphia. Now a month after the crash federal investigators release a preliminary report on the tragedy.
Alex DeMetrick with details on the early findings and a congressional probe of the crash.
NTSB investigators were at the crash site within hours of the derailment.
Three weeks later, they have issued a preliminary report -- much of it based on the data recorder aboard the Amtrak train.
The findings -- speed caused the derailment -- 106 miles per hour in a curve rated at 50 miles per hour.
It found brakes, signals and other mechanical functions working properly.
It also found the engineer had been using his cell phone earlier in the day, but it is still investigating its use at the time of the crash.
Investigators have still to determine if the engine's windshield damage was the result of vandalism or the crash itself.
It was one if the worst accidents in Amtrak history, and Tuesday, triggered a congressional investigation.
"And speed, simply put, is a human factor; a factor based on human behavior. Human factors remain the leading cause of all rail accidents," said Sarah Feinberg with the Federal Railroad Administration.
Engineer Brandon Bostian still says he has no memory of the crash or what led up to it. But it happened along a stretch of track still not equipped with Positive Train Control -- or PTC -- a technology tying GPS to sensors in the rails to a central computer system.
"If, at any time, I am unable to stop the train, Positive Train Control then takes command and stops the train to prevent any kind of incident or accident," said R.T. McCarthy, of Metrolink.
"And I promise you by the end of this year this system, which will dramatically enhance safety, will be complete and operational on the NEC," Joseph Boardman, Amtrak President and CEO said.
The NEC, or Northeast Corridor, is Amtrak's most heavily traveled route. Much of it is equipped with PTC -- but not that curve in Philadelphia.
NTSB's preliminary report sets the dollar damage of the crash at more than $9 million.
Final findings on the derailment will likely take a year to complete.
