What NTSB will analyze: Cellphone use to track signals

Thomas Frank | USA TODAY

Federal investigators looking into the derailment of an Amtrak train Tuesday will analyze everything from the crew's medical history and pre-crash cellphone use to the functioning of warning signals along the tracks in Philadelphia, where seven people were killed.

Criminal investigators also could get involved, searching for evidence of negligence such as the use of illegal drugs or alcohol by train operators.

The National Transportation Safety Board is likely to act quickly in reconstructing the events leading up to the crash, including an analysis of the crew's activities in the preceding few days to determine whether they were fatigued, distracted or emotionally troubled.

The NTSB could dig into Amtrak's management and safety programs to see whether employees are properly trained and supervised, and whether Amtrak adequately addresses known safety problems.

With at least seven people killed in the nation's fifth-largest city and reports that Northeast Regional Train 188 was traveling at more than 100 mph – at least double the 50 mph speed limit – the investigation will become a top priority of the safety board. The NTSB is best known for investigating airplane crashes. However, with no major passenger airline crash in more than six years, the board has dug deeper into rail accidents.





After a speeding commuter train derailed in the Bronx, N.Y., in December 2013, killing four passengers, the NTSB began interviewing railroad engineers, conductors and administrators, as well as passengers, first-responders and officials with the Federal Railroad Administration, which regulates rail safety. The NTSB studied event-data recorders – comparable to airplane "black boxes" – tested equipment and reviewed railroad manuals. The investigation has generated 2,800 pages of public records.

Using medical records, the NTSB found that the train engineer was "obese," that he had complained of fatigue before the crash and that his wife had complained of his snoring – all factors suggesting sleep apnea. An NTSB report issued 11 months after the crash said the engineer had fallen asleep, letting the train speed hit 82 mph in a 30-mph area.

Another crash involving excessive speed occurred in May 2011 south of Charlotte when a freight train rear-ended another freight train, killing the two crewmembers in the rear-ending train. Examining data from the forward-facing video camera on the striking train's locomotive, the NTSB determined that a rail signal directed the crew to slow the train down to 15 mph, but that it was traveling at 31 mph.

The train accelerated to 48 mph and the data recorder showed no evidence that the engineer applied the brakes, leading the NTSB to blame the two deceased crewmembers for violating the speed restriction.

The NTSB can make safety recommendations to anyone – transit operators, federal agencies, manufacturers – but it has no authority to enact regulations. The board has made 162 recommendations to Amtrak since 1971 – a moderate number, particularly compared to the nearly 5,000 recommendations it has made to the Federal Aviation Administration. Amtrak has followed 88% of the NTSB recommendations, records show.