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Federal investigators are looking into whether the Amtrak
engineer operating a train which derailed and killed three
people Monday morning in Washington state was distracted by an employee-in-training, an official told The Associated Press.

Investigators, according to the official, want to determine if
the engineer lost “situational awareness” while operating the
train during its inaugural ride because of a the second person
who was in the train car.

The train was traveling at 80 mph in a 30 mph zone on a new rail
line early Monday in DuPont when it derailed and fell over onto
Interstate 5 below, the National Transportation Safety Board
(NTSB) said late Monday, citing data recorder information.

Of the train’s 85 passengers, three people were killed and more
than 70 others were injured in the derailment.

A NTSB member confirmed Tuesday night that both an engineer and
a conductor who was "getting experience and familiarizing
himself with the territory" were in the cab when the train
crashed. She noted that the actual conductor of the train was in
the passenger section when the accident occurred.

The unidentified train engineer was bleeding from the head after
the derailment and his eyes were swollen shut, according to
radio transmissions from a crew member. The transmissions
mentioned a second person in the front of the train who was also
hurt.

In previous transportation disasters, investigators looked at
whether the engineer was distracted or incapacitated.

Investigators at this point haven’t said what caused the
derailment, and the NTSB said it’s too early to determine why
the locomotive was moving at such a fast speed.

Officials said that positive train control — technology that can
automatically stop or slow down a speeding train — wasn’t in use
on the stretch of track where the derailment occurred because it
wasn’t completed.

Components of positive train control and track sensors had been
previously installed, but wasn’t scheduled to be completed until
the spring, according to officials.

However, a NTSB member said it’s still too early to say if
positive train control would’ve prevented the accident.

The NTSB also added Tuesday that an event recorder from the
derailment appears to show the emergency brake was automatically
activated while the accident was occurring, rather than being
initiated by the train's engineer.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/12/19/amtrak-engineer-in-deadly- wreck-may-have-been-distracted-official-says.html
 

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