New Monorail Crash Details

[WDWFanatic]

Not that it matters but the video narratior says that parts were "spewed out" when the impact happened? Thats not what I saw on the video when it happened, the nose of one monorail was much more intact. All the debris was removed when they took Austin out. If parts had flown off it would have happened out of the station where the acident took place.

 

[wdwmagic]

Wow! I am just amazed that those nose cones could not absorb more of the impact. I know there isn't allot between the front and the pilot podium, but there has to be better protection against accidents like this and not just the safety procedures. I know the monorail safety procedures have worked for 37 years. That does not account at all for the loss of life. There has to be a way to design these things while maintaining that classic shape! Good safe designs with good safety procedures are the type of redundant safety that need to be built into this system!

I doubt surviving a head-on crash was ever even in the design brief. The whole concept of the monorail is that the trains are on a signal controlled known path, with trained pilots. This makes a head on crash highly unlikely. It's nothing like the situation you get with a car, where head on crash is likely.

 

[WDWExplorer]

a train crash is a train crash.... a bumper or protection system in the front would never work.. the forces are too great... you can't put a bumper on a freight train either..

 

[CDavid]

I doubt surviving a head-on crash was ever even in the design brief. The whole concept of the monorail is that the trains are on a signal controlled known path, with trained pilots. This makes a head on crash highly unlikely. It's nothing like the situation you get with a car, where head on crash is likely.

In my opinion, the consequences of a head-on crash should at least have been considered in the design, and some manner of collision posts constructed in the nose. In theory, though very unlikely, monorails could hit other things than another monorail (maybe a tree which was allowed to grow too tall and close to the beam), with potentially similar damage to the operating cab.

Trains also operate along a (usually signaled) controlled path with trained, experienced engineers, but are designed with a head-on collision in mind, and an operating cab designed to protect the crew. Railroads have to deal with grade crossing impacts which monorails don't, but otherwise the risk of collision with another oncoming train should be about the same as a monorail; Meaning it shouldn't ever happen, but it does.

 

[wdwmagic]

In my opinion, the consequences of a head-on crash should at least have been considered in the design, and some manner of collision posts constructed in the nose. In theory, though very unlikely, monorails could hit other things than another monorail (maybe a tree which was allowed to grow too tall and close to the beam), with potentially similar damage to the operating cab.

Yep I don't think you can argue with that.

 

[board57796]

Yeah the video report has two major mistakes. The accident itself didnt "spew" all the parts out, the parts were taken out when they were trying to get Austin out, and second the pilots seat they zoom in on and say that that was the seat he was presumably in is totally wrong because you can clearly see the PINK "D" on the side of that train, meaning that was Pink's cab 6 seat, not Purple's cab 1. Little common sense goes a long way there, Channel 6.

 

[Aroomadoomie]

this is very sad, in one of the pictures with the dibris in the platform you can the the console. you cant see the seat which is somewhat odd but they may have removed it if he was strapped into it. this is very sad but does anybody know the exact cause of death? plus was he sitting in the seat when the trains hit or did he try to get to the ground?

 

[Rob562]

this is very sad, in one of the pictures with the dibris in the platform you can the the console. you cant see the seat which is somewhat odd but they may have removed it if he was strapped into it. this is very sad but does anybody know the exact cause of death? plus was he sitting in the seat when the trains hit or did he try to get to the ground?

I don't know the officially listed cause of death, but looking at photos I think you can pretty much guess. Anything more specific is getting into the macabre realm.

As for what Austin was doing at the crash, I believe it came out in the investigation that he was in the process of trying to reverse his train to avoid the collision, but it was too late, which means he was sitting at the console. He also knew he had Guests in the car right behind him, and I believe he worked valiantly to do everything in his power to save them from injury in the crash.

-Rob

 

[Aroomadoomie]

cant you put the train in reverse without sitting in the seat because if i was gonna crash i would get on the ground.

 

[zulemara]

cant you put the train in reverse without sitting in the seat because if i was gonna crash i would get on the ground.

There is a switch that controls if the train goes forward or in reverse. When the trains are in forward, if the pilot slows down and begins to roll backwards while the train is flipped into forward, the train will e-stop. This happens sometimes on the hold point outside the MK on the resort line when pilots start rolling back.

I was told that austin tried to flip the train into reverse, but because the train was still moving forward, it E-stopped on him. I'm not sure if that is 100% accurate, but it's what I was told.

 

[Tom]

I doubt surviving a head-on crash was ever even in the design brief. The whole concept of the monorail is that the trains are on a signal controlled known path, with trained pilots. This makes a head on crash highly unlikely. It's nothing like the situation you get with a car, where head on crash is likely.

Right. The frame is probably light-gauge steel or perhaps even aluminum, with a fiberglass/composite body. I'm sure the intent was to design them as light as possible, since they'd already be heavy enough when fully loaded.

Besides, when these trains were made, they probably weren't even putting all of the roll-cage type steel in cars that they are today, so why design it into a monorail that "should never possibly" come into contact with another vehicle.

this is very sad, in one of the pictures with the dibris in the platform you can the the console. you cant see the seat which is somewhat odd but they may have removed it if he was strapped into it. this is very sad but does anybody know the exact cause of death? plus was he sitting in the seat when the trains hit or did he try to get to the ground?

There are no seatbelts on the monorail pilot seats. He was either sitting in the seat, or standing beside the console (which is unlikely, since he was already seated to drive the thing).

Also, the cause of death was probably a combination of "blunt force trauma" and "crushing"

As for what Austin was doing at the crash, I believe it came out in the investigation that he was in the process of trying to reverse his train to avoid the collision, but it was too late, which means he was sitting at the console. He also knew he had Guests in the car right behind him, and I believe he worked valiantly to do everything in his power to save them from injury in the crash.

-Rob

Yup. And based on everything I've read and seen, he probably didn't have a LOT of time to react (since he was coming around a curve, in the dark, with foggy windows, and not expecting to have a train barreling down on him), which means he would have been lucky to even get the thing stopped - let alone stop it, switch directions on the console, and reverse. When you're in "panic mode", even the most highly skilled operator doesn't always think through every step (except Chesley Sullenberger).

cant you put the train in reverse without sitting in the seat because if i was gonna crash i would get on the ground.

Austin's train was somewhere between 15-20 feet above concrete/asphalt when he would have first realized what was happening and when the collision actually happened. Jumping out of the train may have crossed his mind, but it may not have ended any better, unfortunately.