Date: 3/31/2009
NEWARK, Ohio (AP) — Authorities in Ohio say a man has been charged with drunken driving after crashing his motorized bar stool.
Police in Newark, 30 miles east of Columbus, say when they responded to a report of a crash with injuries on March 4, they found a man who had wrecked a bar stool powered by a deconstructed lawn mower.
Twenty-eight-year Kile Wygle was hospitalized for minor injuries. Police say he was charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated after he told an officer at the hospital that he had consumed 15 beers. Wygle told police his motorized bar stool can go up to 38 mph.
Wygle has pleaded not guilty and has requested a jury trial.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
Montana Ski Trip Ends in Tragedy
March 22, 2009
The AP is reporting that a single engine turboprop plane has crashed while attempting to land at the airport in Butte, Montana. Landing 500 feet short of the airport, the Montana Standard reported in an online story that it crashed in Butte’s Holy Cross Cemetery.
Reportedly, the plane was on route from Oroville, California to Bozeman, Montana, when the pilot canceled his flight plan and attempted to land in Butte, Montana instead.
17 people were killed in the crash, including several children. All were reportedly on their way to enjoy a ski trip.
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman, Fergus said the plane was registered to Eagle Cap Leasing Inc. in Enterprise, Oregon, but he did not know who the pilot was.
An eyewitness told the Standard that the plane was doing steep angle turns and then went into a nose dive, crashing into the trees in the cemetary.
The AP is reporting that a single engine turboprop plane has crashed while attempting to land at the airport in Butte, Montana. Landing 500 feet short of the airport, the Montana Standard reported in an online story that it crashed in Butte’s Holy Cross Cemetery.
Reportedly, the plane was on route from Oroville, California to Bozeman, Montana, when the pilot canceled his flight plan and attempted to land in Butte, Montana instead.
17 people were killed in the crash, including several children. All were reportedly on their way to enjoy a ski trip.
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman, Fergus said the plane was registered to Eagle Cap Leasing Inc. in Enterprise, Oregon, but he did not know who the pilot was.
An eyewitness told the Standard that the plane was doing steep angle turns and then went into a nose dive, crashing into the trees in the cemetary.
Europe official: Air safety whistle-blowers hushed
Date: 3/17/2009
By MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS
Associated Press Writer
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Civil aviation authorities are only told about 20 percent of dangerous flight incidents because pilots and air traffic controllers are afraid of losing their jobs or being prosecuted, a top European air safety official said Tuesday.
Eurocontrol official Erik Merckx said some countries are misusing laws to prosecute those who report problems. He did not specify which countries he was referring to.
Eurocontrol oversees flight safety and efficiency in its 38 member states, which are almost all European but include countries such as Turkey and Armenia.
“In many countries, pilots and also air traffic controllers are afraid to mention things that go wrong because they can be prosecuted and go to jail,” Merckx told The Associated Press on the sidelines of a European air safety conference in the Cypriot capital.
Reporting such incidents is obligatory under Eurocontrol regulations.
He said underreporting problems could hamper efforts to improve flight safety.
“I see it over the last couple of years that in certain countries, laws are actually misused to prosecute people who are, with the best intentions, doing their job,” Merckx said.
He proposed the urgent creation of an information exchange system under which incidents compromising flight safety would be passed on to aviation professionals to ensure mistakes aren’t repeated.
“If one pilot or air traffic controller makes an error, it would be good that everybody else knows that so that they can avoid those mistakes.”
He said Eurocontrol officials are trying to raise awareness about the issue with the justice ministries of several countries and the European Commission in order to rectify the problem.
“I think we’re only going to get it improved if we try to solve this at the European level,” Merckx said.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
By MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS
Associated Press Writer
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Civil aviation authorities are only told about 20 percent of dangerous flight incidents because pilots and air traffic controllers are afraid of losing their jobs or being prosecuted, a top European air safety official said Tuesday.
Eurocontrol official Erik Merckx said some countries are misusing laws to prosecute those who report problems. He did not specify which countries he was referring to.
Eurocontrol oversees flight safety and efficiency in its 38 member states, which are almost all European but include countries such as Turkey and Armenia.
“In many countries, pilots and also air traffic controllers are afraid to mention things that go wrong because they can be prosecuted and go to jail,” Merckx told The Associated Press on the sidelines of a European air safety conference in the Cypriot capital.
Reporting such incidents is obligatory under Eurocontrol regulations.
He said underreporting problems could hamper efforts to improve flight safety.
“I see it over the last couple of years that in certain countries, laws are actually misused to prosecute people who are, with the best intentions, doing their job,” Merckx said.
He proposed the urgent creation of an information exchange system under which incidents compromising flight safety would be passed on to aviation professionals to ensure mistakes aren’t repeated.
“If one pilot or air traffic controller makes an error, it would be good that everybody else knows that so that they can avoid those mistakes.”
He said Eurocontrol officials are trying to raise awareness about the issue with the justice ministries of several countries and the European Commission in order to rectify the problem.
“I think we’re only going to get it improved if we try to solve this at the European level,” Merckx said.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
DJ AM seeks $20 million for plane crash damages
Date: 3/16/2009
LOS ANGELES (AP) — DJ AM is seeking $20 million in damages related to a plane crash in South Carolina last year that killed four others.
The celebrity disc jockey, whose real name is Adam Goldstein, is suing the plane’s manufacturer, Learjet, and several other companies.
Goldstein is seeking $10 million for medical expenses, lost earnings, profits and economic damages and another $10 million related to non-economic losses, such as mental and physical pain, according to a document filed Friday.
A jury will decide any damage award if the case goes to trial.
Several of the companies sued last year by Goldstein and fellow crash survivor Travis Barker are seeking a trial delay until after a government investigation of the Sept. 19 crash is complete.
A lawyer for Learjet did not immediately return a phone message on Monday afternoon.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — DJ AM is seeking $20 million in damages related to a plane crash in South Carolina last year that killed four others.
The celebrity disc jockey, whose real name is Adam Goldstein, is suing the plane’s manufacturer, Learjet, and several other companies.
Goldstein is seeking $10 million for medical expenses, lost earnings, profits and economic damages and another $10 million related to non-economic losses, such as mental and physical pain, according to a document filed Friday.
A jury will decide any damage award if the case goes to trial.
Several of the companies sued last year by Goldstein and fellow crash survivor Travis Barker are seeking a trial delay until after a government investigation of the Sept. 19 crash is complete.
A lawyer for Learjet did not immediately return a phone message on Monday afternoon.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
Search continues for missionary plane in Venezuela
Date: 3/6/2009
By RACHEL JONES
Associated Press Writer
CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuelan rescuers are still searching for a small plane flown by a U.S. missionary that vanished two weeks ago in the jungles of southern Venezuela, an official with the country’s civil aviation agency said Thursday.
Rescue coordinator Gilberto Gonzalez said officials called off aerial searches several days after the plane disappeared amid stormy weather on Feb. 16, but continue to work with as many as 80 indigenous volunteers who are searching the jungle for wreckage.
“We haven’t stopped looking,” Gonzalez said. “We’re waiting to hear from people on the ground, and trying to work with the resources that we have.”
Robert Norton, a 48-year-old missionary from Bryant, Alabama, had six passengers aboard, including his wife Neiba, missionary Gladis Zerpa, and two adults who were accompanying two sick children he was taking from a hospital to their villages in Venezuela’s remote southern state of Bolivar, said David Gates, a friend of the pilot.
Gates, who is president of Tennessee-based Gospel Ministries International, said the Bolivar state governor’s office loaned rescuers a helicopter, and that friends and family members had asked for help from the Canadian government, which has used its satellite system to track emergency signals from past plane crash sites.
Gates said Norton’s father, Elwin, was also a missionary who died while piloting a plane that crashed in Mexico 29 years ago.
“What makes this thing so painful is that his father was killed with his passengers when he went down in the jungle too,” Gates said. “His mother lost both her husband and a son the same way.”
Nytta Norton of Bryant, Alabama, said she doubted her son would be found alive, but that she trusted God to “see a bigger picture.”
“It’s as though the jungle has just swallowed them up,” she told The Associated Press. “I hope they’ll find them alive and OK. But it has been so long, the chance of that is pretty slim.”
Norton and his wife lived in a village outside the town of Santa Elena, a sparsely populated area of forests, grasslands and plateaus. He provided emergency medical transportation to remote indigenous villages for more than five years as director of Adventist Medical Aviation Venezuela, part of the McDonald, Tennessee-based Gospel Ministries that Gates runs.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
By RACHEL JONES
Associated Press Writer
CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuelan rescuers are still searching for a small plane flown by a U.S. missionary that vanished two weeks ago in the jungles of southern Venezuela, an official with the country’s civil aviation agency said Thursday.
Rescue coordinator Gilberto Gonzalez said officials called off aerial searches several days after the plane disappeared amid stormy weather on Feb. 16, but continue to work with as many as 80 indigenous volunteers who are searching the jungle for wreckage.
“We haven’t stopped looking,” Gonzalez said. “We’re waiting to hear from people on the ground, and trying to work with the resources that we have.”
Robert Norton, a 48-year-old missionary from Bryant, Alabama, had six passengers aboard, including his wife Neiba, missionary Gladis Zerpa, and two adults who were accompanying two sick children he was taking from a hospital to their villages in Venezuela’s remote southern state of Bolivar, said David Gates, a friend of the pilot.
Gates, who is president of Tennessee-based Gospel Ministries International, said the Bolivar state governor’s office loaned rescuers a helicopter, and that friends and family members had asked for help from the Canadian government, which has used its satellite system to track emergency signals from past plane crash sites.
Gates said Norton’s father, Elwin, was also a missionary who died while piloting a plane that crashed in Mexico 29 years ago.
“What makes this thing so painful is that his father was killed with his passengers when he went down in the jungle too,” Gates said. “His mother lost both her husband and a son the same way.”
Nytta Norton of Bryant, Alabama, said she doubted her son would be found alive, but that she trusted God to “see a bigger picture.”
“It’s as though the jungle has just swallowed them up,” she told The Associated Press. “I hope they’ll find them alive and OK. But it has been so long, the chance of that is pretty slim.”
Norton and his wife lived in a village outside the town of Santa Elena, a sparsely populated area of forests, grasslands and plateaus. He provided emergency medical transportation to remote indigenous villages for more than five years as director of Adventist Medical Aviation Venezuela, part of the McDonald, Tennessee-based Gospel Ministries that Gates runs.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
Search ends for NFL players lost off Fla. coast
Date: 3/3/2009
By CHRISTINE ARMARIO
Associated Press Writer
CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — The Coast Guard called off the search Tuesday for two NFL players and a third man lost at sea off the Florida coast after their boat capsized during a fishing trip.
Officials said the search would end at sundown, with Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, free-agent defensive lineman Corey Smith, who played with the Detroit Lions last season, and former South Florida player William Bleakley still missing in the rough, chilly seas.
“We’re extremely confident that if there are any survivors on the surface of the water that we would have found them,” said Coast Guard Capt. Timothy Close, who added that searchers scoured the equivalent of 24,000 square miles over more than 60 hours.
Hopes were raised Monday when crews found a fourth man who was aboard, 24-year-old former South Florida player Nick Schuyler, who managed to stay with the boat after it overturned Saturday evening.
William Bleakley’s father said he felt comfortable with the Coast Guard’s decision and that his expectations lowered after only one survivor was found.
“I think they did everything that they could,” Robert Bleakley said of the Coast Guard. “I think they were not to be found.”
Close said searchers found a cooler and a life jacket 16 miles southeast of the boat, but no other signs of the men.
Prospects for survival became more grim throughout the day, with Cooper’s father saying the Coast Guard told him privately officials were losing hope because so much time had passed and hypothermia risks were high. Coast Guard officials said publicly that they were still hopeful.
“I think the families understood that we put in a tremendous effort,” Close said. “Any search and rescue case we have to stop is disappointing.”
Family and friends embraced and sobbed outside the Coast Guard station shortly before the announcement. They left without talking with reporters.
“I’m sure that I’ll speak of Will like he’s still with us for a long time,” Robert Bleakley said later of his son. “He’ll be an inspiration for me for a long time. He always has been. I told everybody, I call him my hero.”
Lions running back Kevin Smith called Corey Smith “a good, quiet guy, who always put in an honest day’s work.”
Kevin Smith, a Florida native, said he has been fishing off the coast as far as the men were in boats smaller, the same size and larger than the 21-foot watercraft that capsized.
“The No. 1 thing when you’re out there is, you have to respect the water,” he said. “I know those guys had safety vests. I’m trying not to even think about it. That’s a tough way to go.”
The four friends left Clearwater Pass early Saturday in calm weather, but heavy winds picked up through the day and the seas got heavy, with waves of 7 feet and higher, peaking at 15 feet on Sunday. A relative alerted the Coast Guard early Sunday after the men did not return as expected. The Coast Guard said it did not receive a distress signal.
Close said some family members asked about continuing the search on their own, which he discouraged but said the Coast Guard wouldn’t prevent.
“I can’t emphasize this enough,” Close said. “We do not want any additional search and rescue cases resulting from people who are outside their experience level.”
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission may be heading out Wednesday to recover the boat, which was still on the water.
Schuyler told the Coast Guard the boat was anchored when it capsized. The four friends were able to put on life vests and huddle together, but eventually became separated, he said.
Schuyler was dehydrated and showing symptoms of hypothermia, but his condition was upgraded to fair on Tuesday. Hospital officials said he didn’t want to talk to the media.
The Coast Guard hadn’t had more detailed conversations with Schuyler “due to his physical and medical condition,” Close said.
Cooper, who is 26 and owns the boat, was selected in the third round of the 2004 NFL draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers out of Washington. He played 26 games for the Bucs in his first two pro seasons, then led a nomadic NFL existence.
Cooper and Smith, 29, became friends when they were teammates at Tampa Bay. Smith signed with the Bucs as an undrafted free agent in 2002, and spent last season with Detroit before becoming a free agent. The former North Carolina State standout recorded 42 tackles (28 solo), three sacks and 10 special teams tackles in 2008, his best NFL season.
Bleakley, a 25-year-old former tight end from Crystal River, Fla., was on the USF football team in 2004 and 2005. He had one reception for 13 yards in his career, which also included some time on special teams.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
By CHRISTINE ARMARIO
Associated Press Writer
CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — The Coast Guard called off the search Tuesday for two NFL players and a third man lost at sea off the Florida coast after their boat capsized during a fishing trip.
Officials said the search would end at sundown, with Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, free-agent defensive lineman Corey Smith, who played with the Detroit Lions last season, and former South Florida player William Bleakley still missing in the rough, chilly seas.
“We’re extremely confident that if there are any survivors on the surface of the water that we would have found them,” said Coast Guard Capt. Timothy Close, who added that searchers scoured the equivalent of 24,000 square miles over more than 60 hours.
Hopes were raised Monday when crews found a fourth man who was aboard, 24-year-old former South Florida player Nick Schuyler, who managed to stay with the boat after it overturned Saturday evening.
William Bleakley’s father said he felt comfortable with the Coast Guard’s decision and that his expectations lowered after only one survivor was found.
“I think they did everything that they could,” Robert Bleakley said of the Coast Guard. “I think they were not to be found.”
Close said searchers found a cooler and a life jacket 16 miles southeast of the boat, but no other signs of the men.
Prospects for survival became more grim throughout the day, with Cooper’s father saying the Coast Guard told him privately officials were losing hope because so much time had passed and hypothermia risks were high. Coast Guard officials said publicly that they were still hopeful.
“I think the families understood that we put in a tremendous effort,” Close said. “Any search and rescue case we have to stop is disappointing.”
Family and friends embraced and sobbed outside the Coast Guard station shortly before the announcement. They left without talking with reporters.
“I’m sure that I’ll speak of Will like he’s still with us for a long time,” Robert Bleakley said later of his son. “He’ll be an inspiration for me for a long time. He always has been. I told everybody, I call him my hero.”
Lions running back Kevin Smith called Corey Smith “a good, quiet guy, who always put in an honest day’s work.”
Kevin Smith, a Florida native, said he has been fishing off the coast as far as the men were in boats smaller, the same size and larger than the 21-foot watercraft that capsized.
“The No. 1 thing when you’re out there is, you have to respect the water,” he said. “I know those guys had safety vests. I’m trying not to even think about it. That’s a tough way to go.”
The four friends left Clearwater Pass early Saturday in calm weather, but heavy winds picked up through the day and the seas got heavy, with waves of 7 feet and higher, peaking at 15 feet on Sunday. A relative alerted the Coast Guard early Sunday after the men did not return as expected. The Coast Guard said it did not receive a distress signal.
Close said some family members asked about continuing the search on their own, which he discouraged but said the Coast Guard wouldn’t prevent.
“I can’t emphasize this enough,” Close said. “We do not want any additional search and rescue cases resulting from people who are outside their experience level.”
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission may be heading out Wednesday to recover the boat, which was still on the water.
Schuyler told the Coast Guard the boat was anchored when it capsized. The four friends were able to put on life vests and huddle together, but eventually became separated, he said.
Schuyler was dehydrated and showing symptoms of hypothermia, but his condition was upgraded to fair on Tuesday. Hospital officials said he didn’t want to talk to the media.
The Coast Guard hadn’t had more detailed conversations with Schuyler “due to his physical and medical condition,” Close said.
Cooper, who is 26 and owns the boat, was selected in the third round of the 2004 NFL draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers out of Washington. He played 26 games for the Bucs in his first two pro seasons, then led a nomadic NFL existence.
Cooper and Smith, 29, became friends when they were teammates at Tampa Bay. Smith signed with the Bucs as an undrafted free agent in 2002, and spent last season with Detroit before becoming a free agent. The former North Carolina State standout recorded 42 tackles (28 solo), three sacks and 10 special teams tackles in 2008, his best NFL season.
Bleakley, a 25-year-old former tight end from Crystal River, Fla., was on the USF football team in 2004 and 2005. He had one reception for 13 yards in his career, which also included some time on special teams.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
Engineer invited teen to operate locomotive
Date: 3/3/2009
By KEVIN FREKING and DAISY NGUYEN
Associated Press Writers
WASHINGTON (AP) — A commuter train engineer text messaged a promise to a teenage railroad fan — “I’m gonna do all the radio talkin’ … ur gonna run the locomotive” — minutes before a crash that killed 25 people in California last year, according to documents from federal investigators.
The transcript of text messages sent and received by engineer Robert Sanchez were released Tuesday as the National Transportation Safety Board opened a two-day hearing into the Sept. 12 collision in the Los Angeles suburb of Chatsworth that also injured at least 130 people.
Investigators sketched out the days and minutes leading up to the deadly crash between the Metrolink train and a Union Pacific freight train that ended up on the same shared track and slammed head-on at 40 mph. Drivers could see the oncoming train for about five seconds before the wreck occurred.
Investigators described a rash of safety violations, from a stop light that went unheeded to cell phone use and furious text messaging — actions that could have caused the collision.
Federal investigators said Sanchez sent and received 43 text messages and made four phone calls while on duty that day, including one that he sent 22 seconds before the collision. Investigators said the large number of text messages was not uncommon for the engineer in the days leading up to the crash.
Sanchez was killed in the collision.
The texts indicated he had allowed the unidentified teenager to ride in the cab several days before the crash, and that he was planning to let him run the train between four stations on the evening of the crash.
“I’m gonna do all the radio talkin’ … ur gonna run the locomotive & I’m gonna tell u how to do it,” Sanchez wrote in one text.
Unauthorized ride-alongs are considered a serious violation of safety regulations.
After the crash, two teenage train buffs told KCBS-TV they received a text message from Sanchez minutes before the crash.
In an interview with investigators detailed in the newly released documents, the teenager acknowledged he was in the locomotive cab within a week before the collision but said the train was out of service and Sanchez did not allow him to approach the controls.
He said he met Sanchez last May through a group of friends who were also rail fans. He said he and Sanchez communicated by phone and text messages once or twice a week, and that they mostly talked about train operations.
Investigators said there was no sign of mechanical error involving the Metrolink train that was carrying 220 passengers.
“All the evidence is consistent with the Metrolink engineer failing to stop at a red signal,” investigator Wayne Workman told the NTSB’s Board of Inquiry.
Investigators also found that the conductor of the Union Pacific train received and sent numerous text messages while on duty. The conductor tested positive for marijuana, but he was not driving the train at the time of the crash.
The NTSB panel focused on cell phone use by train crew members; the operation of trackside signals designed to prevent collisions; and oversight and compliance with safety procedures during the crash.
Robert Heldenbrand, the conductor of the Metrolink train, contends the signal light was actually green as the train left the station about a mile from the crash site. However, Workman said the signal in question could not be viewed clearly from the station.
Officials with Connex Railroad LLC, the contractor that provides engineers who run Metrolink trains, said it was possible to see a green light from the station, but the train had to move farther up the track to see whether it was red. They took exception to the assurance the light was red. They also said the speed of the train indicated that the engineer was under the impression he would not have to stop.
Heldenbrand also told investigators he had warned a supervisor months before the deadly crash about Sanchez’s on-duty cell phone use. He said he followed up with the same supervisor two days before the collision and was assured his concern would be addressed.
His contention is the basis of dozens of negligence lawsuits that allege Connex knew about the cell phone use but did nothing about it.
Rick Dahl, a representative of Connex, told NTSB’s Board of Inquiry that the company had a strict policy against use of cell phones. When that policy went into effect in September 2006, officials stopped and boarded trains to check their employees’ cell phone use. In one instance, Dahl said Sanchez’s cell phone rang as he was interviewing him.
“I told the engineer he was in violation of our policy and that I was going to take an exception to that,” Dahl said. “The engineer told me he knows the policy and forgot to turn it off when he stowed it away in the morning.”
Board member Kitty Higgins said she was troubled by records indicating a few problems with the engineer and crew before the accident.
“It raises questions for me about what the heck else was going on out there,” she said.
Higgins asked Connex officials what they were doing to ensure that what occurred on the Metrolink train was an anomaly when it came to following company and federal policies.
Company officials said if employees are intent on getting around the rules, “there’s not a lot we can do.”
“If you have an employee that’s not going to comply with the rules, it’s very difficult. But we have stepped up our game,” said Tom McDonald of Connex.
Higgins acknowledged that Metrolink policies prohibiting cell phone use and ride-alongs, “but unless you have effective steps for getting people to comply with them, they’re meaningless,” Higgins said.
The crash prompted a federal ban on cell phone use by rail workers and led Congress to pass a new law requiring so-called “positive train control” technology that can stop a train if it’s headed for a collision.
____
Nguyen reported from Los Angeles.
____
On the Net:
NTSB: http://www.ntsb.gov
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
By KEVIN FREKING and DAISY NGUYEN
Associated Press Writers
WASHINGTON (AP) — A commuter train engineer text messaged a promise to a teenage railroad fan — “I’m gonna do all the radio talkin’ … ur gonna run the locomotive” — minutes before a crash that killed 25 people in California last year, according to documents from federal investigators.
The transcript of text messages sent and received by engineer Robert Sanchez were released Tuesday as the National Transportation Safety Board opened a two-day hearing into the Sept. 12 collision in the Los Angeles suburb of Chatsworth that also injured at least 130 people.
Investigators sketched out the days and minutes leading up to the deadly crash between the Metrolink train and a Union Pacific freight train that ended up on the same shared track and slammed head-on at 40 mph. Drivers could see the oncoming train for about five seconds before the wreck occurred.
Investigators described a rash of safety violations, from a stop light that went unheeded to cell phone use and furious text messaging — actions that could have caused the collision.
Federal investigators said Sanchez sent and received 43 text messages and made four phone calls while on duty that day, including one that he sent 22 seconds before the collision. Investigators said the large number of text messages was not uncommon for the engineer in the days leading up to the crash.
Sanchez was killed in the collision.
The texts indicated he had allowed the unidentified teenager to ride in the cab several days before the crash, and that he was planning to let him run the train between four stations on the evening of the crash.
“I’m gonna do all the radio talkin’ … ur gonna run the locomotive & I’m gonna tell u how to do it,” Sanchez wrote in one text.
Unauthorized ride-alongs are considered a serious violation of safety regulations.
After the crash, two teenage train buffs told KCBS-TV they received a text message from Sanchez minutes before the crash.
In an interview with investigators detailed in the newly released documents, the teenager acknowledged he was in the locomotive cab within a week before the collision but said the train was out of service and Sanchez did not allow him to approach the controls.
He said he met Sanchez last May through a group of friends who were also rail fans. He said he and Sanchez communicated by phone and text messages once or twice a week, and that they mostly talked about train operations.
Investigators said there was no sign of mechanical error involving the Metrolink train that was carrying 220 passengers.
“All the evidence is consistent with the Metrolink engineer failing to stop at a red signal,” investigator Wayne Workman told the NTSB’s Board of Inquiry.
Investigators also found that the conductor of the Union Pacific train received and sent numerous text messages while on duty. The conductor tested positive for marijuana, but he was not driving the train at the time of the crash.
The NTSB panel focused on cell phone use by train crew members; the operation of trackside signals designed to prevent collisions; and oversight and compliance with safety procedures during the crash.
Robert Heldenbrand, the conductor of the Metrolink train, contends the signal light was actually green as the train left the station about a mile from the crash site. However, Workman said the signal in question could not be viewed clearly from the station.
Officials with Connex Railroad LLC, the contractor that provides engineers who run Metrolink trains, said it was possible to see a green light from the station, but the train had to move farther up the track to see whether it was red. They took exception to the assurance the light was red. They also said the speed of the train indicated that the engineer was under the impression he would not have to stop.
Heldenbrand also told investigators he had warned a supervisor months before the deadly crash about Sanchez’s on-duty cell phone use. He said he followed up with the same supervisor two days before the collision and was assured his concern would be addressed.
His contention is the basis of dozens of negligence lawsuits that allege Connex knew about the cell phone use but did nothing about it.
Rick Dahl, a representative of Connex, told NTSB’s Board of Inquiry that the company had a strict policy against use of cell phones. When that policy went into effect in September 2006, officials stopped and boarded trains to check their employees’ cell phone use. In one instance, Dahl said Sanchez’s cell phone rang as he was interviewing him.
“I told the engineer he was in violation of our policy and that I was going to take an exception to that,” Dahl said. “The engineer told me he knows the policy and forgot to turn it off when he stowed it away in the morning.”
Board member Kitty Higgins said she was troubled by records indicating a few problems with the engineer and crew before the accident.
“It raises questions for me about what the heck else was going on out there,” she said.
Higgins asked Connex officials what they were doing to ensure that what occurred on the Metrolink train was an anomaly when it came to following company and federal policies.
Company officials said if employees are intent on getting around the rules, “there’s not a lot we can do.”
“If you have an employee that’s not going to comply with the rules, it’s very difficult. But we have stepped up our game,” said Tom McDonald of Connex.
Higgins acknowledged that Metrolink policies prohibiting cell phone use and ride-alongs, “but unless you have effective steps for getting people to comply with them, they’re meaningless,” Higgins said.
The crash prompted a federal ban on cell phone use by rail workers and led Congress to pass a new law requiring so-called “positive train control” technology that can stop a train if it’s headed for a collision.
____
Nguyen reported from Los Angeles.
____
On the Net:
NTSB: http://www.ntsb.gov
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.