Attempt to switch tracks may have caused Disney monorail crash
National Transportation Safety Board to investigate incident
On Monday in an unprecedented move, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) stated it will investigate the fatal crash of two Walt Disney World monorail. The federal agency is best known for probing airline crashes.
Initial reports from other investigators Sunday, indicated that the accident occurred from a track switch that never happened.
An Orlando Sentinel article from last night outlines the timeline of the collision.
The 2 a.m. Sunday collision occurred as one of Disney’s trains was supposed to utilize a transfer spur to move from the resort’s Epcot line to a Magic Kingdom line so it could return to the system’s maintenance bay for the night.
Instead the switch didn’t occurr and the train apparently moved in reverse back down the Epcot line. The onboard collision-avoidance system likely was set on override. The train slammed into a second train with a handful of passengers on board.
Austin Wuennenberg, 21, a monorail pilot on the second train was killed. He is being remembered fondly on various social networks, such as Twitter and Facebook. Disney has stated that none of the guests were injured. The pilot of the other monorail, who has yet to be identified, was not seriously injured.
Disney World will reopen monorail — with extra safety features
After the deadly Sunday 2am Walt Disney World monorail crash, the Orlando Sentinel is reporting that the Disney monorail has resumed operation. The publication cited a note to Walt Disney World employees this morning, stating that new safety sensors were added to monitor track switches. Per the note, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration “released” the monorail system back to the resort.
Investigators will continue their search into what caused a deadly crash early Sunday following Fourth of July fireworks shows.
The predawn collision occurred as one of the trains was being transferred off the system’s Epcot line, which ferries guests between the Magic Kingdom and Epcot, according to Disney’s note. Austin Wuennenberg, 21, was the lone fatality.
Wuennenberg described fondly his monorail pilot job on Facebook. He felt is was “running the highway in the sky.”
As the news broke Sunday morning, people rushed to social networking sites, like Twitter and Facebook, to discuss the sad event.
Austin is being remember on Twitter with people adding the hash tag #Austin to their tweets.
A Facebook Group was constructed to honor the memory for the Disney monorail driver. Click here to join.
Disney World monorail collision kills 1
Around 2am, two Walt Disney World monorails collided, according to reports from local news services. Emergency services immediately responded to the incident. 8 people were evaluated total following the crash. One monorail driver was killed. The other driver is fine physically. There were 5 to 6 guests on the monorail at the time of the crash. Disney World Public Relations tells Local 6 that they will release more information later this morning.
Statement from Disney
Mike Griffin, vice president of public affairs at Walt Disney World, issued the following statement Sunday following the wreck:
“Today, we mourn the loss of our fellow cast member. Our hearts go out to his family and those who have lost a friend and coworker. The safety of our guests and cast members is always our top priority. The monorail is out of service and we will continue to work closely with law enforcement to determine what happened and the appropriate next steps.”
To read more about this terrible accident, please check out the WKMG Orlando article and the News 13 article.
