Brittany Horn

The News Journal

Federal investigators on Monday released a preliminary report on a crash earlier this month near Philadelphia.

The report said a backhoe that was struck had periodic right to be on the tracks.

A Wilmington resident and another man were killed in the crash.

A backhoe and two longtime Amtrak employees, one from Delaware, were authorized to be on the railroad tracks on April 3 when a passenger train hit and killed them, federal investigators said Monday.

In a preliminary report, the National Transportation Safety Board said the workers were performing maintenance on track 2 in Chester, Pennsylvania. The work was scheduled to take place from 10 p.m. April 1 until 5 a.m. April 4. At the time of the crash, the track was supposed to be closed to trains, the report said.

"NTSB investigators are confirming what roadway worker protections were in place at the time of the accident," the agency said. This includes complete track closure, flagmen to help alert to oncoming trains and other measures often used by Amtrak.

Backhoe operator Joseph Carter Jr., 61, of Wilmington, and supervisor Peter Adamovich, 59, of Lincoln University, Pennsylvania, were killed.

It could be nearly a year before the final report and more details are released, NTSB spokesman Terry Williams said Monday. The investigation is in its early stages, he said.

The preliminary report confirmed few details about the wreck, but it does indicate that workers were granted access to perform track maintenance, as well as “intermittent foul time” protection on the surrounding tracks. This “foul time,” or blockage on the tracks, allows machines like the backhoe to move freely on surrounding rails while cleaning the ballast and rocks around the tracks, according to the report.

Amtrak said in a statement that it continues to work with the NTSB and other agencies investigating the crash.

"The goal is for us to fully understand what happened and how we can prevent a similar incident from occurring in the future," it said in a statement.

Railroad experts in the days following the crash said that such collisions are preventable when safety precautions are taken. Many of the regulations they referenced, like gaining authority of the track before beginning maintenance, have surfaced in reports and directives from the agencies.

STORY: 2 dead, dozens injured in Amtrak crash

STORY: Amtrak deaths preventable if safety rules followed

The 35,000-member Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division also has been vocal in the weeks following the crash, saying Amtrak is not properly staffed or trained to ensure safety of employees.

“This senseless tragedy could have and should have been avoided,” the group said in an April 13 letter to members. It says that leadership high in the company and in management positions are not well-versed in train operations and protocols.

Union leaders also said in a statement that they do not expect Amtrak to work with them, citing work orders following the crash as an example.

“Amtrak ordered the employees of the Wilmington sub-division to pick up the pieces of the backhoe from the right of way and stack them in a pile. The men ordered to do this were close friends and co-workers with brothers Carter and Adamovich. Many cried as they followed this order,” according to the union’s letter. “Words can not describe the ignorance that would produce this order. This level of ignorance can not be reasoned with, it must be defeated.”

Amtrak issued a statement in response to the union's letter in defense of its safety procedures.

"We are continuously working to improve the safety culture within the engineering department and the entire company," it said in a statement. "The most effective way to make that happen is true collaboration between Amtrak management and union leadership to work together to ensure a safe working environment for our employees."

An additional letter from the Pennsylvania Federation branch of the union said a third worker was severely injured in the crash, but the Federal Railroad Administration, the NTSB and Amtrak would not confirm the other person.

Representatives from the union could not be reached for comment.

The FRA issued directives to Amtrak less than a week after the crash to review its safety policies and procedures. Though the NTSB has not commented on what was learned through interviews with employees and supervisors working that weekend, the directive was the first public indication that safety regulations may have played a role in the crash.

The directive told Amtrak to conduct a "comprehensive review of basic and all pertinent safety rules and regulations with employees," according to FRA officials. It also told the railroad agency to review rules on communication between work groups, foremen and dispatchers as part of the safety review.

NTSB officials said they were conducting interviews with Amtrak employees and dispatchers who were working before and during the crash. FRA and Amtrak regulations require all communication between dispatchers and maintenance of way employees on the tracks be documented. No details regarding these interviews have been released.

The FRA is conducting its own investigation separate from the NTSB, though there is no timeline as to when a final report and possible violations will be released, spokesman Matthew Lehner said Monday.

Officials said the train was traveling at 106 mph when it collided with the backhoe, a speed it was authorized to be traveling along that stretch of track. Forty-one of the more than 300 passengers were transported to the hospital.

Officials said the locomotive engineer initiated the emergency braking system five seconds before the crash after he reported “seeing something” on track 3. The NTSB estimated $2.2 million in damages from the crash, according to the report.

Contact Brittany Horn at (302) 324-2771 or bhorn@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter at @brittanyhorn.