Amtrak engineer misread signal before fatal crash near Seattle: U.S. agency

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

#U.S.JANUARY 25, 2018 / 1:05 PM / UPDATED 3 HOURS AGO

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Amtrak engineer aboard a passenger train that derailed last month in Washington state has told the National Transportation Safety Board he misread a signal and tried to brake before the crash that killed three people, the agency said on Thursday.

All 12 cars and one of two engines jumped the tracks at a curve on Dec. 18, sending some cars tumbling from a bridge onto an interstate highway near Seattle.

The NTSB this month said the crash, which also injured 70 people, could have been prevented if a safety technology system known as positive train control had been operational. It said the train was traveling at 79 miles per hour (126 km per hour) when it derailed, far above the 30 mph speed limit.

-snip-

The engineer told investigators he was aware that the curve with a 30 mph (48 kph) speed restriction was at milepost 19.8 of the track, and that he had planned to start braking about one mile (1.6 km) prior to the curve, the agency said. The engineer said he did not recall seeing milepost 18 or the 30 mph advance speed sign that was posted two miles (3.2 km) ahead of the speed-restricted curve, the NTSB said.

-snip-



Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-washington-train/amtrak-engineer-misread-signal-before-fatal-crash-near-seattle-u-s-agency-idUSKBN1FE2NH

[TheCowsCameHome]

1. So he missed a milepost and a speed board?

That's different than "misreading a signal", whatever that means.

(Can't figure out how he missed both the MP and the speed board, unless he was totally distracted).

[Sneederbunk]

2. Misreading sounds better than not reading or not paying attention.

[SoCalMusicLover]

3. Standard "I Don't Recall" Cop-Out Defense

"I Don't Recall Seeing The Sign." Not much you can argue with about that response.

I'm sure he doesn't "recall" the reason for missing the sign. Most likely it's a targeted forgetfulness, and he was doing something he shouldn't have been. Perhaps texting or talking to someone while he should have been concentrating on his job, and the guarding the safety of every human riding that train.

Another cop-out is all the talk about how it wouldn't have happened if there was the computer system. That's probably true, but how about all the decades of train travel before this safety system existed? Perhaps the engineer should do what he's supposed to do, instead of relying on a computer to keep the train safe.

[AtheistCrusader]

4. Almost every country in the world uses Positive Train Control (PTC) rather than relying on human

error and misperception. It WOULD have prevented the crash. Per routine.

The engineer fucked up, because he's a biological meatbag. (And likely knows his job is already obsolete.)