Deadly Disney World Monorail Crash-Updated with NTSB Report

[goofygirl67]

The writers of the latest artical doesn't have all their facts correct, Jacksonville has a monorail also. This accident will not prevent me from riding the monorail again, however I will miss riding up front.

[Victor Kelly]

I and the rest of my family will continue to ride the monorails when we visit. I have the utmost confidence in the CMs in every area of the WDW transportation system, and I always will. My future father-in-law said it very plainly tonight at dinner "Disney is one of the safest places to be on the planet". He is right.

[FlaTinkRAMESAM]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/...1gknAD9996ILG0

Witness says Disney monorail crash was "head-on"

By MIKE SCHNEIDER – 3 hours ago

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A witness to the monorail accident that killed a train operator at Walt Disney World over the weekend described it as "a head-on collision" between two trains in a 911 call released Monday.

"A monorail was waiting to come into the station ... or it did not leave the station, and the other one cleared through the station, and there was a head-on collision," the male caller said.

The accident occurred as the park resort was closing early Sunday and one train was being transferred off the rail line, said Zoraya Suarez, a Disney spokeswoman. She declined to describe the circumstances of the crash further.

Austin Wuennenberg, 21, died of multiple traumatic injuries in what's being considered an accident, said Sheri Blanton, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner's office in Orlando.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Monday it will investigate whether workplace safety rules were broken before one monorail train crashed into another, said Mike D'Aquino, a spokesman in Atlanta for the federal agency. The investigation could take as long as six months.

If citations are issued, Disney World could be fined thousands of dollars. The Orange County Sheriff's Office in Orlando also is investigating the death.

In another 911 call, a male Disney worker described hearing "a big bang."

"There's an issue with the monorail. Something happened," the caller said. "We just heard a loud bang and my manager ran in and told me to call you."

The monorail system, which shuttles thousands of visitors around the sprawling resort each day, was shut down Sunday but Disney officials reopened it to visitors Monday afternoon. Workers performed test runs on the system earlier in the day.

Suarez said extra measures to verify that the track switches are operating properly have been put into place, although she refused to be more specific.

"All I can say is there are additional verifications," she said. "We've supplemented our safety procedures and protocol."

No guests were seriously injured in the first fatal accident in the 38-year history of the park's monorail.

The medical examiner's office won't issue a final report on Wuennenberg's death until it finishes toxicology tests, which are standard in any unexpected death, Blanton said.

Wuennenberg was a computer science student at Stetson University in nearby DeLand. Friends said he scheduled his classes around his Disney job.

Each train in the monorail system is run manually by the operator and must keep roughly 300 yards apart from each other. If a train gets too close to another, the train will automatically shut down and the operator will be replaced at the next stop, said Joseph Humphrey, a 30-year-old former Walt Disney World monorail operator, who stopped working at the resort in 2004.

A train operator has an emergency stop button at hand which can halt a train, as well as a button that can override the computer and allow the train to continue.

"For this accident to have occurred, one of two things had to happen," Humphrey said. "Either the computers had to have catastrophically just failed or someone had to have engaged an override button."

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

[Ian]

... has anyone sat and thought about what we can do as an intercot community to help Austins's family like starting a collection for them or coming up with an idea to honor him like start a petition to have a plaque or something in his rememberence at the ticket and transportation center or retire the color of the monorail he was driving in. something along those lines

There's a Facebook group dedicated to his memory that's working on some of those things. You might want to check it out.

[CU Tiger]

What a tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family. I am shocked there were no other passengers up front. We always ask to ride up front and it is usually full. I bet the next day was real somber for the CMs.

[TracyL]

I for one am very glad to hear that the NTSB is going to investigate this. If I were Disney, honestly, I'd have invited them. The NTSB is better at accident investigation than anyone. Their thorough examination of every nook, cranny and shred of metal will provide valuable insight into the cause of this accident.

As another poster said, though, it could easily be a year before that report comes out, so don't hold your breath. On the bright side, NTSB reports are government documents and will become public record upon release. So for those of you who want an in-depth and detailed explanation of what happened and why, you're in luck -- you are going to get it.

[Aurora]

I for one am very glad to hear that the NTSB is going to investigate this. If I were Disney, honestly, I'd have invited them.

[GrumpyFan]

Interesting that NTSB is stepping in. I'll be interested in seeing their report, eventually.

[John]

The NTSB investigation is unprecedented. Not only has the federal agency never before sought to investigate a monorail crash at either Disney World or Disneyland in California, Knudson said he could not recall a single investigation involving an all-privately owned transit system operating on private land. But he said NTSB officials determined that they have jurisdiction.

First of all - let me say I am all for a complete accounting of what went wrong, who did or didn't do what and what steps are being taken to resolve it - all reported to the public.

That being said - am I the only one a little bothered by the Feds determining that they have jurisdiction in this case? It's one thing if they were invited in to help with the investigation, but them claiming jusisdiction here seems a little bit far reaching.

At a minimum, shouldn't this be a local or state matter?

[JPL]

A witness to the monorail accident that killed a train operator at Walt Disney World over the weekend described it as "a head-on collision" between two trains in a 911 call released Monday.

Basically this is an easy mistake to make since the trains look identical in the front and back. Chances are had it been "head-on" both drivers would have been killed based on the pictures and video I have seen.


As for the NTSB getting involved it seems like they are over stepping their authority unless it depends on the number of people carried by a system that determines their jurisdiction.

[GrumpyFan]

I'm with John on this, i agree that there should be a full accounting/investigation, but I'm a bit bothered by the NTSB's stepping in as well. My first thought was that they don't really have jurisdiction, and I'm still not completely sure they do. However, according to the code under which they fall, they can step in when they see fit.

If you're interested, you can look it up on their site. Or, PM me and I will send you the link. I read thru it and nowhere could I find anything specific or exclusive of private property. It reads as follows:

excerpts from:
United States Code Annotated
Title 49. Transportation
Subtitle II. Other Government Agencies
Chapter 11. National Transportation Safety Board
Subchapter I. General

1131. General authority (a) General.--(1) The National Transportation Safety Board shall investigate or have investigated (in detail the Board prescribes) and establish the facts, circumstances, and cause or probable cause of--

(C) a railroad accident in which there is a fatality or substantial property damage, or that involves a passenger train;

(F) any other accident related to the transportation of individuals or property when the Board decides--
(i) the accident is catastrophic;
(ii) the accident involves problems of a recurring character; or
(iii) the investigation of the accident would carry out this chapter.

1134. Inspections and autopsies (a) Entry and inspection.--An officer or employee of the National Transportation Safety Board--
(1) on display of appropriate credentials and written notice of inspection authority, may enter property where a transportation accident has occurred or wreckage from the accident is located and do anything necessary to conduct an investigation; and
(2) during reasonable hours, may inspect any record, process, control, or facility related to an accident investigation under this chapter.

It kinda sounds like their authority is pretty broad, if not somewhat ambiguous.

[Aurora]

The National Transportation Safety Board shall investigate or have investigated ... and establish the facts, circumstances, and cause or probable cause of--

(C) a railroad accident in which there is a fatality or substantial property damage, or that involves a passenger train;


This doesn't seem ambiguous to me and seems to be within the NTSB's jurisdiction. There was a fatality and it was a passenger train. I'm assuming the NTSB never before took an interest in the monorail because there had never before been a fatality.

[Crow]

whatever happened and whoevers investigating....its a shame that someone died.
this is terrible for the family and for Disney.

[chrim]

First of all, I am saddened to hear of the monorail accident at WDW and of the death of a cast member. My condolences to his family.

I am happy to hear OSHA and especially happy to hear the NTSB is investigating the accident. They are doing so to protect the future safety of WDW guests and cast members. No matter how well an organization is run, there is always room for improvement, and I hope the investigations and any findings only serve to prevent any future accidents.

With this said, I am puzzled to hear there is shock and displeasure about the NTSB getting involved. Let me offer you some thoughts:

I have not yet hear anyone criticize OSHA for getting involved. If I were (hypothetically) a greedy corporate executive running a shady company, I think I would rather be investigated by the NTSB than OSHA. OSHA can fine me. OSHA can force me to change my business. OSHA might even be able to shut me down. In contrast, the NTSB cannot arrest anyone, cannot mandate a change in behavior, cannot levy fines, cannot shut down a business. NTSB findings cannot be used as evidence in criminal court. Yes, the NTSB can hold press conferences and write about the accident, but that is the worst they can do.

In the aviation world, the NTSB acts as an appeals court and can overturn FAA punishments, reinstate licenses revoked by the FAA, and the like if the punishment is judged unfair, unwarranted, or too severe. Thus, it is a good thing to have the NTSB get involved.

The NTSB has jurisdiction to investigate any transportation accident. Transportation can be via aircraft (plane, helicopter, balloon, or blimp), train, ship, car, truck, or pipeline. The transportation can be of people OR cargo. An accident is an event where the transportation vehicle is substantially damaged and/or one or more people is killed (whether employee or passenger does not matter, whether the deceased was or was not on/in the accident vehicle does not matter). At WDW, there was a death and thus there was an accident.

The NTSB has been investigating subway/trolley/light rail accidents as types of railroad. In fact, the NTSB web site talks of current investigations of both the Boston and Washington D.C. subway systems. I have no trouble saying a monorail system is as much of a railroad as a subway.

The NTSB commonly investigates accidents of privately owned vehicles not transporting paying passengers. The NTSB investigated the JFK Jr. plane crash even though that was a private plane used for a private flight. I don't remember anyone complaining about the NTSB getting involved then.

The NTSB certainly can and does commonly investigate accidents occurring on private property. Most railroads own the land under their tracks (these are "right of ways"). The same can be said for pipelines. Thus, an NTSB investigation on WDW land is no different than investigating a train accident on land owned by railroads like CSX, FEC (Florida East Coast), Union Pacific, etc.

The NTSB can be prevented from investigating accidents outside of the USA. WDW is governed by the Reedy Creek Improvement District, but that is still part of the USA.

The NTSB is only pushed aside for criminal investigations, acts of terrorism, acts of war, etc. Letting the NTSB take the lead could be seen as an indication that this being treated as an accident and not as a criminal event.

WDW could, in theory, try to argue that the monorail system is an amusement park or fair ride and not a transportation system. But, after calling it their "highway in the sky" and using other like names, I think WDW would look foolish to call it anything but a mode of transportation.

End of rant. Thank you for those that read all of this.

For the record, I am not, nor have I ever been an employee of the NTSB. Nor have I ever been investigated by, or participated in an investigation by the NTSB.

I have used the contents of NTSB reports at work, however.

[Marker]

Frankly, I'm not really surprised at all with the involvement of the NTSB, in fact that was one of the first thing I thought of when I first heard of this. And like others have mentioned, I'm not really sure why there would be concern about the NTSB involvement.

Disney needs to take every step possible to discover the cause and take necessary steps to improve the system safety so as to prevent this situation from ever occuring again. They have to concern themselves with both the safety of passengers and cast members as well as avoiding liability issues.

I would not be the least bit surprised if Disney welcomed, or perhaps even invited the NTSB to assist in the investigation.

[DisneyLover65]

My Prayers go out to the family. We were there when it happened. You know if the family had rode up front with the driver they would have been killed too. We have rode up front many times before, but this has changed my mind of ever doing it again. I think they shouldn't let anyone ride up front again.

[VolMickey]

...You know if the family had rode up front with the driver they would have been killed too. ...

Scary thought, for sure.

[sgdisney]

This is just such a sad story for Austin's family, friends and co workers. It sounds like he was one of the cast members that truly embraced the Disney Magic and passed that on to those around him.

Does anyone know if he by chance worked in the AK last summer? Reason I'm asking is a dear friend of mine was there last August and she had a wonderful encounter with a CM named Austin in front of the tree of life. They were posing for pics in front of the Tree and CM Austin stopped, took off his poncho (rainy day), laid it on the ground, laid down on it and took their picture to get them and a great shot of the Tree of Life in the picture. In conversation, this CM told her his first name and that he was a college student at a nearby school that was not familiar to her. The pics posted of him look familiar and she thinks this may well be the same person.

[fupresti]

First of all - let me say I am all for a complete accounting of what went wrong, who did or didn't do what and what steps are being taken to resolve it - all reported to the public.

That being said - am I the only one a little bothered by the Feds determining that they have jurisdiction in this case? It's one thing if they were invited in to help with the investigation, but them claiming jusisdiction here seems a little bit far reaching.

At a minimum, shouldn't this be a local or state matter?

Come on now, I think this is just a isolated example of the government getting involved in private business.

Wait a second...

[gueli]

... We have rode up front many times before, but this has changed my mind of ever doing it again. I think they shouldn't let anyone ride up front again.

I respectfully disagree. If you and your family choose not to do it, fine. But let others make their own decisions.
Mostly the drivers seemed quite cautious when we were upfront, not distracted by the passengers, certainly telling stories, but primarily paying attention to their JOB.

In any accident, the ones upfront are most likely to be injured. This does not stop the NYC subway from keeping passengers out of the 1st car. Or any train/commuter system from keeping passengers out of the front of a train.

I shall wait & hear what disney, osha, Sheriffs office & NTSB have to say about how the crash occured, why and the chain of events that led to the crash.
Also keep in mind this is the only fatal accident in 38 years...(yes and 1 is too many)...