NTSB faults distracted engineer in 2015 Amtrak wreck that killed 8
WASHINGTON — The Amtrak engineer whose speeding train ran off the rails in Philadelphia last year was apparently distracted by word that a train nearby had been hit by a rock, federal investigators concluded Tuesday, pinning most of the blame on him for the wreck that killed eight people.
“He went, in a matter of seconds, from distraction to disaster,” National Transportation Safety Board member Robert Sumwalt said.
At the same time, the NTSB said a contributing factor was the railroad industry’s decades-long failure to fully install positive train control, GPS-based technology that can automatically slow trains that are going over the speed limit.
Had positive train control been in use along that stretch of track, “we would not be here today,” said Ted Turpin, an NTSB investigator.
Engineer Brandon Bostian heard about the rockthrowing on the radio and was apparently so preoccupied by it that he lost track of where he was and accelerated full-throttle to 106 mph as he went into a sharp curve with a 50 mph speed limit, investigators said at an NTSB hearing to pinpoint the cause of the May 12, 2015, derailment. About 200 people aboard the Washington-to-New York train that night were injured.
Bostian, who has been suspended without pay since the crash for speeding, did not attend the hearing. He and his lawyer did not immediately return calls and emails seeking comment.
Ron Kaminkow, an Amtrak engineer who also serves as secretary of the industry union consortium Railroad Workers United, said the board’s conclusion underscores the need to put two engineers on trains. “If one buys into this theory, having another engineer or conductor would’ve prevented the wreck,” he said.
As for what this could mean for Amtrak and Bostian, the railroad has already taken responsibility for the tragedy, and its liability is capped under federal law at $295 million, which could easily be exhausted, given the number of deaths and serious injuries.
The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office is helping the NTSB on the investigation, but a spokesman would not comment on the possibility of criminal charges.
In a statement, Amtrak said it “deeply regrets the tragic derailment” and will carefully review the NTSB findings and recommendations and quickly adopt them where appropriate. Amtrak noted that positive train control is already in place on most of its portion of the Northeast Corridor.