NTSB: U.S. Train Engineer Slammed on Brakes before Crash
The engineer of a U.S. passenger train that was traveling at more than 100 miles per hour -- twice the approved speed -- slammed on the emergency brakes just before a deadly derailment in Philadelphia, investigators said Wednesday.
The driver engaged in a "full emergency brake application" moments before the derailment, but the train speed only decreased by a few miles per hour, Robert Sumwalt of the National Transportation Safety Board told reporters.
The preliminary data came from the so-called "black box" recovered from the wreckage after Tuesday night's crash of Amtrak Train 188, which was headed from Washington to New York. At least seven people were killed and more than 200 others injured.
The emergency brakes only slowed the train speed from 106 miles (170 kilometers) per hour to 102 mph, Sumwalt said, noting: "It takes a long time and distance to decelerate a train."
He said a speed control system in place along parts of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor between Washington and New York was not yet in place on that particular section of tracks.
"We feel that had such a system been installed in this section of track, this accident would not have occurred," he said.
Sumwalt said his team would be on the scene for about a week.
Source: Agence France Presse
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