Monday’s preliminary report on the May 12 Amtrak train derailment confirmed excessive speed, equipment that appears to be in good repair and remaining questions about the engineer’s use of his cell phone.
No definitive explanation has been released yet about the derailment’s cause.
The engineer, Brandon Bostian, is a 32-year-old Memphis native and a 2001 graduate of Bartlett High School.
Investigators emphasized Monday that they have not yet determined if his cellphone was in use during the time the train was being operated, but they continue to examine evidence.
Bostian has said he has no memories of the accident, and investigators say he has been cooperative.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released a report on June 1 that summarized knowledge about the accident to date.
Northbound Amtrak passenger train No. 188 derailed near Philadelphia just after it entered the Frankford Junction curve at a speed of 106 — a curve where the speed is restricted to 50 mph — and the engineer applied the emergency brakes.
Seconds later, the locomotive and all seven passenger cars derailed. Damages are estimated at more than 9.2 million.
Eight passengers died of injuries from the accident, and more than 200 others were injured.
The weather was reported to be 82 degrees F. with a westerly wind of 20 mph, clear skies and good visibility.
Investigators have been studying the damaged cars and locomotive at Amtrak facilities in Delaware. To date, they have found no anomalies in the train’s braking systems, signals and track geometry.
The NTSB has Bostian’s cell phone and his cell phone records, and their forensic experts are examining both to determine whether cell phone use might have been a factor in the accident.
The report stated, “Although the records appear to indicate that calls were made, text messages sent, and data used on the day of the accident, investigators have not yet made a determination if there was any phone activity during the time the train was being operated. Investigators are in the process of correlating the time stamps in the engineer’s cell phone records with multiple data sources, including the locomotive event recorder, the locomotive outward facing video, recorded radio communications, and surveillance video.”
The investigation also looked at reports of vandals throwing rocks or other objects at passing trains around the time of the derailment. There were reports of damage to locomotive windshields and to at least one passenger car.
The Amtrak 188 locomotive windshield has impact damage, but experts have not determined if the damage was from a thrown object or as a result of the derailment.
The FBI assisted the NTSB in evaluating the locomotive’s windshield damage, and the investigation has found no evidence of damage that could have been caused by a firearm.
The parties to the investigation include the Federal Railroad Administration, National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak); Philadelphia Police Department; Philadelphia Office of Emergency Services; Philadelphia Fire Department; Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen; International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers; and the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees.
The report also noted that its information is preliminary and will be supplemented or corrected during the investigation. See the report online at bit.ly/AmtrakJune1.
