Tram accident this morning at MCO

[tundramom]

A passenger propelled through a tram windshield during a freak accident at Orlando International Airport has died, according to airport spokeswoman Carolyn Fennell.The man, who was taken to Florida Hospital East after the incident, has not been identified.

Fennell said the train, which travels from terminal A to gates 1 to 29, abruptly halted around 5:45 a.m. Friday, sending the man through the windshield and about 15 feet to the ground. It's not known what caused the tram, which travels over water and trees, to suddenly stop.
Bombardier, which operates and maintains the train system, had an employee on the tram, which was being operated manually during a routine inspection, airport officials said. The worker was not injured.

Fennell added that the passenger should not have been on the tram while it was operating in manual mode.

The tram has been shut down, and an investigation is underway. There are two tram tracks in the area, so travelers are using the other one to get to their respective gates.

Airport officials said the trams were first introduced at OIA 35 years ago and were overhauled in 1998. There have not been any other similar issues at the airport, officials said.

Overall, there are eight trams with three cars each at OIA, and they carry about 100,000 passengers per day, officials said. The average roundtrip is three minutes.

The accident has not caused any travel delays for airline passengers.-Report by WKMG Local 6

[VWL Mom]

How terrible

[faline]

What an awful accident. So sad.

[VWL Mom]

The original report has been updated. It appears two workers were doing a maintenance run and brought two of their friends (non employees) with them. They allowed one of the friends to operate the tram while it was set in manual, he took his hand off the control and the kill switch caused the tram to immediately stop. Still a horrible thing.

[Tekneek]

It is no less terrible, but interesting that new facts reveal the negligence of the two maintenance workers. This is going to be a lot of trouble for the parties involved, both legal and financial.

[Puppy Mom]

My bet is that Bombardier will still be found liable because the maintenance workers will be found to be agents of the company. I don't think that the maintenance worker's actions being against work rules will be enough to protect the company from liability.

Of course the person's family will sue. They always do.

Any lawyers want to weigh in?

[faline]

Of course the person's family will sue. They always do.

If the facts are as reported (What is reported is not always factual.), it would appear the family of the gentleman who passed away would have legitimate cause to file suit. In addition to having an inappropriate person on board and allowed to operate the tram, there is no way the passenger should have been on that tram during a maintenance operation. That there was a passenger on board is not the fault of the passenger.

[magicofdisney]

So the person that was thrown from the tram was an actual passenger or one of the maintenance workers' friend?

[faline]

So the person that was thrown from the tram was an actual passenger or one of the maintenance workers' friend?

Actually, a report I just saw and had not seen earlier indicates the man who died was the man who was the maintenancce person's friend and had been the one operating the controls so it appears another passenger was not on the tram unknown to the maintenance worker(s).

[Tekneek]

If a representative of a company allows a person to do something they should not be doing, the company is likely liable for the consequences of that. This is not the same thing as a couple of fools jumping in and taking it for a joy ride. What has been reported indicates they were invited in by employees, who then allowed one of them to take the controls.