Monorail Accident

[redkoala245]

This is sad news!
I hope monorail Pink and Purple could get fixed up. Will they fix the two monorails?
I hope they could figure something out to prevent monorails from colliding.

 

[Disney05]

Sorry if this has been asked, is there any kind of recurrent training for these pilots? Maybe like a simulator or something? I'm not suggesting it was the pilots fault but being in the aviation field I was just wondering.

 

[TheBigBadWolf]

Monorail crash

Agreed. I think they will put in a new policy that no guest will ever be allowed to ride in the front ever again. As for the monorail itself, they will probably put in new safeguards well before the summer ends.

 

[kitten2299]

My prayers goes out to the family friends and coworkers. I also feel bad for all the guests who were on the monorail or witnessed this horrible accident. Just seeing the pictures made me cry I could only imagine the horror for all people involved.

 

[bluefaery]

Here is an article about the crash from yahoo news: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090705/ap_on_re_us/us_disney_monorail_crash

 

[WDW1974]

Haven't read 301 posts and I don't have time now ... but I'll just post my take ...

Rode both trains involved just maybe a few hours prior ... have no idea how this could happen beyond what has been stated.

There are safeguards. You likely had a total failure of them combined with CM error of some sort ... multiple things went wrong obviously.

The only info according to a report on WFTV a little while ago was the guy was 21-years old ... no one else was injured. And Disney cares the utmost for the safety of its guests and cast.

And that the rails will be closed today ... didn't mention whether this will just be the EPCOT line.

Also, they're going to have two trains down for the foreseeable future when they get the OK to reopen, obviously.

I really wonder what the deal was here ... much like the Air France jet ... a whole lot of things had to go wrong at the same time because this is so extraordinary a circumstance that it defies belief.

My Dad woke me up to the news and my reaction was just total shock and sadness as the rails are one of my favorite things at WDW ... but I will say I have heard rumblings of safety issues in the past from people who have worked them ... no idea here ... just tragic.

Before JT (or anyone else jumps on me) Disney has been known to take shortcuts (both individually and systematically) ... not saying it was the case here, just saying it was possible.

And even if it was 'human error' much like the deaths in Anaheim, that human error ws the result of poor training and people not following procedures ... anyway, just sad. And quite probably preventable.

 

[xsupaxmanxsfnex]

^^So the monorail was on its way back from EPCOT (said in the video on the page)

 

[Dskipper]

lee??

lee who told you purple backed into pink? all written statements say other wise.

 

[tomm4004]

...we shouldn't post at all until someone with knowledge does.

There's a difference between expressing concerns, making comments and asking questions, and egregious speculation that the driver fell asleep, had a heart attack or committed suicide. Many posters saw only system failure or driver error as possibilities, and this was based on zero facts whatsoever. Now posters are suggesting that it was neither. It might just be nice to refrain from speculation as to the cause of the accident, especially that which calls the mental stability of a young man into question.

 

[MyLittleAngels]

lee who told you purple backed into pink

Lee said pink backed into purple. You might need a reread on that one.

 

[xsupaxmanxsfnex]

I can't help but notice that the difference in these two pictures is that the monorail is in the station (screen cap from the video, which seemed like it was right after the crash)

And this picture is taken with the monorails outside the station.

 

[hardcard]

There's a difference between expressing concerns, making comments and asking questions, and egregious speculation that the driver fell asleep, had a heart attack or committed suicide. Many posters saw only system failure or driver error as possibilities, and this was based on zero facts whatsoever. Now posters are suggesting that it was neither. It might just be nice to refrain from speculation as to the cause of the accident, especially that which calls the mental stability of a young man into question.

And when all is said and done, the CM at central could have been misinformed by someone as....

My point is, that EVERYTHING is speculation at this point, and no post is valued higher than another.. sorry, but it's true.

So, basically what you are saying is that it's ok to speculate that the cm at central had a human error that caused someone to get killed, but it's not ok to speculate that the cm that was killed had commited an error?

Wow, Hypocrisy at it's best..

 

[Dskipper]

Lee said pink backed into purple. You might need a reread on that one.

thats what i meant, i fliped the colors. everyone has said pink was parked.

 

[RSoxNo1]

What's more disheartening is that the victim was pronounced dead on sight. Often times this means decapitation.

This appears to be a horrible tragedy and like everyone my thoughts go out to the individual's family.

I am interested to see what additional precautions, if any will be changed to the monorail system to prevent future accidents.

 

[MGMBoy]

Wow...Haven't posted here for a long time. Someone already mentioned the visibility issues on the EPCOT spur over the parking lot. (Haven't riden in the front the EPCOT line in a long time). Is it possible that this may have happened?

~Pink stalls just before TTC
~Purple gets MAPO alert but can't see anything and figures there's no way there would be a train ahead of them
~Purple overrides MAPO
~Purple comes around corner and is either distracted or not paying attention and doesn't hit the brakes in time to avoid a collision.

Also, if a train is having system issues and has to be restarted, is it possible that they go invisible to MAPO?

 

[MyLittleAngels]

everyone has said pink was parked.

Actually, several people are now saying pink was reversing in an effort to get removed from the beam. The type of damage inflicted on purple would suggest this is true.

 

[CaptainMichael]

Sorry if this has been asked, is there any kind of recurrent training for these pilots? Maybe like a simulator or something? I'm not suggesting it was the pilots fault but being in the aviation field I was just wondering.

Speaking as a watercraft pilot, we are evaluated once a month by a manager. I assume it's the same for 'rails. Monorail also goes through a simulated evacuation (not sure of the frequency) where a train is stopped on a beam and people are rescued.

 

[mkt]

Sorry if this has been asked, is there any kind of recurrent training for these pilots? Maybe like a simulator or something? I'm not suggesting it was the pilots fault but being in the aviation field I was just wondering.

If they're like most other places in WDW, the answer is no.

Once you're trained and certified, you remain certified as long as you continue working in your role. IIRC, the time to lose your certification is either 1 year or 6 months... leaning more towards the six months.

 

[bingie]

What's more disheartening is that the victim was pronounced dead on sight. Often times this means decapitation.

I don't think so here... The video shows guests calling out to the driver.. if that was the case, they wouldn't bother...

 

[Lee]

thats what i meant, i fliped the colors. everyone has said pink was parked.

I just posted what I heard early this morning, and I can't say it's 100% accurate at this point.
What I was told was Purple coming into the station one way, Pink backing in from the other end under override.
Boom.

Seems to me that Pink was perhaps going to be routed off the system. That might explain why it was going in reverse under override. What I don't know at this point (don't think anybody does...) is whether or not Purple was sitting still and was hit, or was it underway to the station when Pink backed into it. If it was underway, then we have to wonder how the MAPO didn't stop it. (Or it might have stopped, but was hit by Pink anyway since Pink was on override.) If it was stationary, MAPO wouldn't come into play.

Interesting mental exercise to try to figure it out, but WAY too early to really have anything figured out with the little information we have at this point.