Breaking: Asst Conductor thought she heard over the radio the Engineeer say that the train was

[itsrobert]

Last edited Fri May 15, 2015, 07:13 PM - Edit history (1)

struck by a projectile prior to the crash.

(CNN)One of three conductors aboard the Amtrak train that derailed in Philadelphia this week told investigators she heard the locomotive's engineer say the train had been struck by an object, National Transportation Safety Board member Robert Sumwalt said Friday.

The assistant conductor said she overheard radio transmissions between engineer Brandon Bostian and the engineer of a Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) train.

"She recalled that the SEPTA engineer had reported to the train dispatcher that he had either been hit by a rock or shot at, and the SEPTA engineer said that he had a broken windshield, and he placed his train into emergency stop," Sumwalt said. "She also believed that she heard (the Amtrak) engineer say something about his train being struck by something."

http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/15/us/philadelphia-amtrak-train-derailment/index.html

[Buzz Clik]

1. The train was the projectile...

more than 100 mph going into a curve.

[xynthee]

2. just saw this!

I really want for this engineer to be absolved of responsibility. He seems to be a decent guy.

[NickB79]

3. A decent guy taking a curve at 100 mph in a train?!?! Are you fucking kidding me?

I don't care if the assistant conductor has video of a god-damn machine gun opening up on this train before the crash, that doesn't change the fact that the black box PROVES that this "decent guy" was driving at a lethal speed.

What's the rationale for claiming a projectile hit the the train? That the conductor put it full throttle to save the passengers from someone trying to shoot them? It makes no sense.

[xynthee]

6. I know!

I'm a huge bleeding heart! He just seems like the kind of guy who will never be able to live with the guilt, even if it's discovered he did nothing wrong. I can't imagine being responsible for other people's deaths!

Even if it's found that he "spaced out," I'll sympathize. I space out all the time!

This is so heartbreaking!

[justiceischeap]

14. Several years back the DC Metro had two trains crash into one another

Killing the conductor and 8 other people. The conductor was demonized by the Metro authority and the press. She was initially blamed for the crash because it was claimed she was texting. Come to find out it was because of a faulty circuit that didn't show that there was a train stopped in front of her. She was told to proceed up to 55mph. When she saw the stopped train, she pushed the emergency mushroom brake that slowed the train to 44mph at impact.

The point of all of this? Wait until the NTSB releases its conclusions before blaming this guy. We don't have all the information so we don't know if the conductor was negligent or not.

[Raine1967]

37. Thank you of saying this.

I have seen an awful lot of speculation going on and I would like to see what the NTSB has to say.

[AngryAmish]

39. Well, 5 or 10 years ago a pedophile was driving a train in California...

Missed a signal since he was rexting a potential victim and caused a huge crash.

[Live and Learn]

46. +1 nt

[NickB79]

63. "She was told to proceed up to 55mph"

The maximum speed on this line was 80 mph; the curve speed was 50 mph.

Under what concievable circumstances was this guy instructed to go 25 mph over the MAX speed limit?

I have yet to hear ANY speculation that justifies a speed of 106 mph, unless the black box itself is faulty.

[justiceischeap]

64. I'm not claiming he was instructed to speed up

The point of the story is that we don't know if this guy was actually at fault. Last I read the NTSB is trying to figure out why the train went to that speed. I haven't heard that they think the engineer did it willfully yet it seems many are jumping to that conclusion just as they did in the DC Metro accident.

[backscatter712]

45. We don't know what happened.

The engineer may have panicked and hit the wrong lever, or the train may have malfunctioned.

[bigwillq]

5. Sometimes decent people do stupid things.

It seems like he was traveling way too fast, more than double the speed limit I thought I read.

If so, and that's determined as the cause of the crash, then this decent man needs to do the decent thing and take responsibility for his actions and choices.

[yeoman6987]

44. If he is found guilty of excessive speed,

He will have to be held accountable. No more then 20 years in prison because I don't think he meant to kill those passengers. My blessing heart is the reason for this too. You will have others calling for life in prison but that is too far.

[bigwillq]

47. A year for each person killed

is fine by me.
No need for life or even 20 years.

[yeoman6987]

49. Yeah I could live with that easily.

[bigwillq]

51. I am not a judge, but I play one on DU!

[panader0]

58. The only explanation could be that he was disoriented or somehow affected by the supposed

projectile. His friends (I know they are prejudiced) say he is a sober and conscientious type. He had even written in a blog or
somewhere about rail safety concerns. But speed was definitely the cause of the crash. The question is why was he speeding?

[haikugal]

4. I didn't know Amtrac trains could do 100 miles an hour!

[krispos42]

20. This model is rated for 125mph.

Something like 8,000 horsepower.

[haikugal]

26. I had no idea! Thanks for the info.

[fadedrose]

7. 3 trains were hit by something....nt

[In_The_Wind]

9. Three ??? eom.

[LisaL]

11. Two that we know of.

If this one was also hit (which isn't clear at all) it would make 3.

[nadinbrzezinski]

12. Yeah, let me give you a link

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/05/13/septa_projectile_two_philly_trains_suffered_window_damage_around_the_same.html

It was first a very local story... I see that now it is starting to grow stumps...

[haikugal]

54. LOL, "grow stumps".... nt

[nadinbrzezinski]

55. It is not yet to feet

[haikugal]

59. Much less legs...

[nadinbrzezinski]

61. I think this is starting to grow legs

actually, after it made it to the daily reporting.

Feet, let's see if the FBI finds them.

[haikugal]

62. Good point....

[fadedrose]

15. All in the window of the engineer's cab

First one was reported, no damage, and just went on....2nd train engineer spoke to #188 and told him he'd been hit, and then #188 doesn't remember anything and train speeds up immediately.

The engineer of #188 didn't report it, a female conductor overheard the conversation between the two, and the first one reported his I guess after hearing about the other trains. The female asst. conductor reported it...

It was on CNN just a half/hour ago.

I'm happy it wasn't the engimeer. but I hope it was not terrorism. Maybe they can find the projectiles in the cabs and see what they can find, fingerprints, etc....and send the sob to jail.

[LisaL]

16. Projectile thrown at the window wouldn't cause the train to accelerate, would it?

[davidn3600]

19. Unless maybe it hit the engineer and knocked him unconscious

[LisaL]

22. Engineer wasn't knocked unconcsious since he was talking about it

OP is wrong. Conductor didn't says she heard something hitting the train. She thinks she overheard him talking on the radio with another engineer after something hit the train. So he certainly wasn't unconscious.

[B2G]

23. He says he remembers going into the turn and

Breaking.

Come on.

[virgogal]

27. Do you mean "braking"? (Not a criticsm,just confusion on my part.)

[B2G]

28. yes i do

My cellphone has a mind of its own. Lol

[LisaL]

30. Where did you hear that?

From what I have seen reported, he says he doesn't remember anything after train passed North Philadelphia station.

[B2G]

31. No. His lawyer stated that

It's bee posted numerous times.

[LisaL]

36. Do you have a link for that?

Because what is being reported is completely different.

"He recalls ringing the train bell as he went through North Philadelphia Station, as required,” Mr. Sumwalt said. “He has no recollection of anything past that.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/16/us/amtrak-train-may-have-been-struck-before-it-derailed-officials-say.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=1

[B2G]

40. Yes, here. Straight from his attorney.

"What was Amtrak engineer Brandon Bostian doing and thinking when his speeding train careened off the rails in Philadelphia, killing seven people and sending over 200 more to the hospital?

He can't say.

That's what Bostian's lawyer told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Thursday morning, saying his client "has absolutely no recollection whatsoever of the events" after losing consciousness in the crash Tuesday night.

"He remembers coming into the curve (and) attempting to reduce speed," the attorney, Robert Goggin, said. "... The last thing he recalls is coming to, looking for his bag, getting his cell phone, turning it on and calling 911."

http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/14/us/philadelphia-amtrak-train-derailment/index.html

[LisaL]

41. Thanks. That certainly seems like a rather huge contradiction to me.

Either he remembers going into the curve and attempting to reduce speed, or he doesn't remember anything after leaving North Philadelphia station.

[B2G]

43. I agree totally

Despite what some here seem to think, I have no agenda here. There are a lot of contradictions and I'm just trying to figure out what caused this.

But the fact that this info came from his lawyer makes me think it's pretty damn accurate.

[itsrobert]

35. That is correct

n/t

[madinmaryland]

24. Have you been driving down the highway at 60 and had

Something hit your windshield? Maybe not enough to break the glass, but it will startle the shit out of you. Now imagine if it broke the glass and temporarily knocked out the engineer. When he came to a half minute later, it was too late to slow down the train.

[LisaL]

25. Conductor said she overheard him talking with the SEPTA engineer about this.

How do you think he could have been knocked out and talking at the same time?

[madinmaryland]

29. I am a bit confused about your reply. The engineer was

talking to a septa engineer about projectiles. I assume it was after that conversation that the train could have been hit???

[LisaL]

33. No.

Conductor thinks she overheard the engineer saying the train was also hit. So it would have been after, not before. So he wasn't passed out.


"The assistant conductor, however, who was working in the cafe car, heard the engineer talking to his counterpart on a SEPTA regional line, who said his train had been “hit by a rock or shot at,” according to Mr. Sumwalt. The assistant conductor said she thought she heard the Amtrak engineer, Brandon Bostian, reply that his train had also been struck."

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/16/us/amtrak-train-may-have-been-struck-before-it-derailed-officials-say.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=1

[madinmaryland]

38. Ok. Thanks. I had not seen that.

That puts it in a bit of a different light, assuming that what the conductor said matches. I guess we'll have to see what the NTSB says.

[In_The_Wind]

17. I've been away from the TV this afternoon. Thanks for the information.

[In_The_Wind]

10. You won't last long on DU with that attitude.

[dixiegrrrrl]

32. And you were correct.

Some folks should just sign up with "name removed" as their DU name.

[In_The_Wind]

53. LOL! Thanks for letting me know.

MIRT sends the problem child packing again.

[B2G]

13. Who's said he's "crazy"? nt

[B2G]

21. It seems some here are positively desperate

That this investigation proves it was not a result of operator error due to excessive speed.

Why??

[Renew Deal]

34. The only one desperate here is you

But people hope it wasn't human error for a lot of reasons. One is that maybe the tragedy wasn't easily preventable. Maybe they are sympathetic to a person that they believe has acted professionally. Maybe it's to support a person that is suffering right now.

[malaise]

42. I'm trying to remember which DUer posted a thread about projectiles being thrown

at other trains that same night. The thread was started either the same night or the next morning.

[nadinbrzezinski]

48. PC Intern

[malaise]

50. Girl you're good

Correct

[malaise]

52. Here's the thread-There may be more to this derailment than meets the eye...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026668103

[PCIntern]

56. I thank you for the credit...

hard to earn around here…!

[malaise]

57. LOL

I'll never understand it

Nadin reminded me that it was your OP - I just remembered the OP.

[Backwoodsrider]

60. I have been away from the news for a while but

last night I heard on MSNBC that according to the black box the train was close to the speed limit 90 seconds before the crash and speeded up to close to 100 mph about 70 seconds later before it hit the turn and the brakes were applied right before train ran off the tracks.