NTSB releases preliminary report about deadly Amtrak derailment in Chariton County
CHARITON COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ)
The NTSB has released its preliminary report about last month's deadly Amtrak derailment near Mendon, Missouri.
NTSB issued Thursday the preliminary report for its ongoing investigation of the June 27, 2022, grade crossing collision and derailment between an Amtrak passenger train and dump truck near Mendon, Missouri; https://t.co/GrL77j9hpq
— NTSB Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) July 21, 2022
The derailment happened on Monday, June 27 at 12:42 p.m. at a crossing on County Road 113 known as Porche Praire Avenue, according to the agency. Investigators said the Amtrak's "Southwest Chief" train collided with a fully loaded dump truck at the crossing.
The train was traveling from Los Angeles to Chicago with 270 passengers and 12 crew at the time of the derailment.
Three passengers and the driver of the dump truck were killed in the crash. Dozens of other people on the train were hurt in the collision.
Both locomotives and eight passenger cars derailed and the dump truck was destroyed in the crash. Seven of the passenger railcars tipped over onto their sides.
The derailment caused around $4 million in damage, according to the NTSB.
In the preliminary report, the agency details that BNSF authorizes train movements in the area of the crash with a traffic control system. Investigators said those train movements are coordinated by a BNSF dispatcher located at a dispatch center in Fort Worth, Texas.
The railroad tracks in the area are also overlaid with a positive train control (PTC) system. PTC systems are designed to prevent train-on-train collisions and trains from overspeeding, according to the Federal Railroad Administration.
Investigators said the maximum speed on the tracks where the collision happened is 90 mph. The train was traveling at 89 mph before the crew used the emergency brakes, according to the NTSB.
Investigators were able to recover and review data recorders from the locomotives. Crews also recovered the dump truck's engine control module.
The NTSB plans to further investigate the highway railroad grade crossing design specifications, railcar design, survival factors, and passenger railcar crashworthiness.
Several lawsuits have been filed in the aftermath of the deadly train derailment. That includes family members of 82-year-old Binh Phan, who died in the crash.
