Driver killed in monorail crash....

[alicia080979]

Ok so I didnt go back to read if anyone posted this, but...

WESH in Orlando just reported that as we have discussed here the a failure of the switch to turn is what the overall cause of the crash was confirmed to be. The pink train was being taken off Epcot line and put on the MK line to return to depot. The NTSB concluded that there was no failure in the computer system operating the switch, and that the switch is/was functioning propertly.

Translation: Someone didnt activate the switch....

They also reported that it appears that the operator (Austin) was not at a complete stop in TTC and had attempted to put his train in reverse to avoid the collision....

Not sure if that is true or not (having not heard any official reports) but if so, it almost makes it worse for me knowing that he knew what was about to happen. I have just been so sad about this tradegy and pray for comfort and peace for his family, friends, and the other driver.

 

[deej696]

They just reported again on it, in addition to the above, the "on duty manager" for the monorail was offsite and having dinner at Perkins, communicating by two way radio. No joke....

They stressed that this was not the cause of the crash, but it certainly doesnt look good...

They also repeated what I posted above, that the switch was not activated, and that there was no mechanical explanation for the malfuction, although they did not repeat the statement about the purple train being in the reverse postion...

 

[Buzz Litebeer]

Also, I did read his autoposy was done but toxicology reports would take a couple weeks, I agree this is probably just a procedural thing. I don't think anyone thinks he used anyting, but have to be complete.

This is, essentially the case. Toxicology is standard in an autopsy.

 

[inkkognito]

The report also said that Austin tried to back up purple just prior to the crash: http://bit.ly/12vmRw

 

[MickeyMomOfThree]

Oh, that adds to my saddness, knowing he saw what was about to happen. I guess I knew it, but wanted to think he didn't see it coming.

So strange, but he is all I can think about, well his mother really. I mean, I hear news stories all the time and feel sad but then I move on, I can't stop thinking about this though. I told my DH tonight about his mom, his dad passing away when he was 2, the yearb ook, my DH told me I had to stop, it was too much he didn't want to know anymore. I suppose I should stop reading, but I can't seem to.

I hope his funeral today brought some comfort for his loved ones. I know they are forever changed but it seems that so many people loved him, hopefully they all were able to give comfort to each other.

 

[deej696]

To piggyback my earlier posts, someone posted this article on the Rumors board...

NTSB: No mechanical problems in Disney monorail

The Associated Press
Wednesday, July 8, 2009 7:10 PM

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Federal investigators are focusing on why a switch failed to change positions in the monorail crash that killed an operator at Walt Disney World over the weekend.

The National Transportation Safety Board reported Wednesday that no malfunctions have been found with the automatic train stop system, nor with any mechanical parts of the switch. No mechanical problems were found with the two trains that collided Sunday.

The accident killed 21-year-old Austin Wuennenberg.

A pink train was backing up in order to change tracks from the Epcot loop to the Magic Kingdom loop shortly before the accident. However, the switch that would have allowed the pink train to be routed to the Magic Kingdom loop had not changed positions. As a result, the pink train went back down the same track it had come from and collided with a purple train controlled by Wuennenberg, according to the NTSB.

The agency said it appears Wuennenberg tried to put his train in reverse to avoid the collision.

 

[carmie3377]

The report also said that Austin tried to back up purple just prior to the crash: http://bit.ly/12vmRw

I followed this link and found a video clip of a family riding up front with Austin. He seemed like such a nice young man that really enjoyed
his job. He was talking to the little boy, let him sit in the pilot seat while the train was not in motion, ect. Brings tears to my eyes.


ETA: Just went back and read a few pages and realized the video was posted.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

They just reported again on it, in addition to the above, the "on duty manager" for the monorail was offsite and having dinner at Perkins, communicating by two way radio. No joke....

They stressed that this was not the cause of the crash, but it certainly doesnt look good...

I just saw a video of the news report on the WESH website which mentions that and a former Monorail driver said it's not that big of a deal, although he also said why he was not there when they are about to close the park is another question to ask.

 

[rhiansmom]

It has taken me awhile to post but I have read every single word written about the accident on this website along with lots and lots of others. My heart goes out to his family and friends especially his mother and girlfriend.

We were at WDW when this happened... actually we were leaving DHS about 1:20 am after their EMH and DD and SO wanted to ride the monorail so we talked about heading that way (either by boat or bus to a monorail resort) but I didn't know how late they would run so I talked them out of it so we hopped a bus back to the All Stars.

The next morning was our last day and we woke up to the news. Honestly it broke my heart and I know it will be the first thing I remember about this trip as Javier Cruz is the first thing I remember about my 2004 trip. Javier was a CM dressed as Pluto when he was run over by a parade float in MK. This happened on our last day of that trip.

May Javier and Austin rest in peace....they will forever be the first people I think about when I think of Disney World.

 

[SueM in MN]

For all the wonder that is Disney, it is, in fact, a corporation, and this seems to be how they choose to deal with such issues. Recall the "rumors" several years ago about the CM injured/killed working on the Skyway at MK. This was back when they still had the magazine, so we actually wrote in asking why the Skyway was removed because we always enjoyed grabbing pics, etc. We received a "we were unable to find an answer for you" response, but they did send us one of those architectural plan drawings of Cinderella Castle. Now, you know they know the answer. It was kind of like, well, we don't want to discuss this, so we'll give you this pic and hope you go away. I also don't recall hearing anything on the news about that incident. (BTW, I'm not saying I agree with how they've handled this, so please don't flame me. )

I just wanted to point out that death was on the news and according to Snopes.com, even though people assume that accident was why the skyway closed, other economic reasons were the real cause of the closing.
In the few years before it closed, we noticed the skyway was closed more often than it was open. My FIL was big for talking to people and was told by CMs that some of the problems with the skyway included:

• it could not be operated if the wind was too strong
• it could not be operated if there were thunderstorms within several miles of the park
• it was an older attraction and frequently needed repairs
• it was a slow loading attraction that required a lot of CMs to run
• CMs had to physically push the gondolas at 3 points of the ride, which led to some back injuries
• liability concerns about passengers dropping or throwing things
• guests disappointment of the view (the view of the Fantasyland roofs was more industrial than magical)

So, there were a lot of other reasons - also, it didn't close until months after the fall. If it was closed because of the death, it would have not made sense to keep it open for months afterward.

Perhaps Disney is showing its "human response" to those who should most appropriately see it -- the family of the CM who died. I would imagine that several letters of condolence from many at WDW and the Disney Co have made their way to Austin's family. They're the people Disney should be focusing on.

As for the CEO making a statement, I wouldn't expect him to do that until all the facts are in. I mean, come on. Disney may be very important to everyone here, but in the real world, Disney's just another business. Bob Iger going on CNN to talk about the cause of a monorail crash at Disney World would be a huge over-reaction. You want to make people scared of riding on monorails? That's how to do it.

Disney probably has contacted the news media to correct early misinformation. But the thing is ... just because Disney tells them the right info doesn't mean the news media is going to change what they're saying. Not all of the stations out there care if they have it right. They just want it first. And honestly ... I'd rather Disney be concentrating on its CMs and Guests and how to get through this than to be constantly calling up Fox and telling them what they're saying wrong.

Agree with all your points.

 

[fairestoneofall]

The report also said that Austin tried to back up purple just prior to the crash: http://bit.ly/12vmRw

That is just so sad to me, that he saw it coming. I cannot image.

 

[inkkognito]

That is just so sad to me, that he saw it coming. I cannot image.

Yes, and although this is just a guess on my part, it also seems to indicate that he was trying to get his passengers out of the way. If he had only been thinking of himself, he could have tried to jump out of the cab. Instead, he stayed at his post and tried to move the train.

 

[SueM in MN]

Yes, and although this is just a guess on my part, it also seems to indicate that he was trying to get his passengers out of the way. If he had only been thinking of himself, he could have tried to jump out of the cab. Instead, he stayed at his post and tried to move the train.

 

[carmie3377]

Yes, and although this is just a guess on my part, it also seems to indicate that he was trying to get his passengers out of the way. If he had only been thinking of himself, he could have tried to jump out of the cab. Instead, he stayed at his post and tried to move the train.

I know, I thought the same thing. I asked myself "Why didn't he just get out of the cab?" and then realized he was probably trying to protect the passengers by attempting to move the train.

My heart aches for his family and friends. I know how I feel and I didn't even know the young man. I can't even imagine how his mother feels. Such a terrible loss of a young life.

 

[SandrA9810]

I find it...something... when my theory turns out right. I don't remember if it was made in this topic or not, but I do remember posting some where that Austin probably tried to back the train up so there would be less severity to the passangers in the front cab. He might've bailed if the passangers we're loaded say car 3 or 4. Knowing 6 lives are right behind your own, which means he always put others in front of himself.

It's Disney standard to stay this quiet. Usually accidents like this only come out of speculation entirely when cast members at the time are no longer with the company, and they have nothing to loose. Of course this could be years later, when most people are not interested in it. Same reason why you only hear when a ride goes down "we're down due to technical difficulties." It could be something serious like some one falling out and getting hurt, it could be as minor as something falling into the tracks and causing the sensors to go off, or a bad thunderstorm knocking a sensor out. I've even heard some guest snuck a turkey leg or something and tossed it onto the track when he got done with it. (It's actually easy enough to get food/drinks past them if you hide it.) Of course it could be some long standing curse that sends the ride down during the day. No matter what all you hear is "we're down due to technical difficulties"

As far as the "on duty manager" i think is a bunch of bull... First off there's usually several managers even at 2am or 5am park closings. Secondly we know there was a manger on scene from the photo with the firefighter and the 911 call made by the CM that states: "my manager just said to call you, i'm not sure if there's any fatalities. We just heard a loud boom." I'm guessing they were in the break room/office. And all mangers carry blackberries... that is their life 24/7, when you no longer have the title, you no longer have the blackberry. And 9 times out of 10 a manger freaks when they don't have it on them... you think teenagers are bad about texting, you haven't seen have the managers at Disney. It's very well possible that there was a manager at perkins, but I wouldn't go so far as to say he was the "on duty manager". It could very well be that's where he found out about it. (surprised he wasn't at the ale house...)

For the skyway ride, there was a death of a guest at DL and a death of the CM (maintance guy) at WDW. It was very brutal to the cast members because they had to stop the guandalas with thier bodies, and if there was a heavy person... Our next door neighbor told us that's where she worked about 10-15 years ago and it was physically painful on her part to do that sort of work day in and day out. Kari also mentioned that one of her managers used to work in fantasyland, turned out they went to high school together and worked together in fantasyland. Small world right?


Austin's monorail ride video nearly choked me up. I didn't want to cry in front of Kari because she didn't seem quite as emotional. You know his mom will forever be thankful for that video. I feel so sorry for the little boy. I know the mom said she wasn't going to tell him, but he probably thinks the world of autsin and will be upset when he's old enough to find out what happened.

 

[cinderella73]

Well I saw the photos and I cant bear to watch the videos. I cry just after seeing his face and hearing the story about what kind of person he was.

Last trip we were in a monorail that went past its stop on the platform and froze there . We didnt move for about 10 minutes , then we went into reverse. It was kinda scary because I remember thinking I hope in all this time that has passed ( 20 minutes total) that a monorail does not come in while we are going backward. I even made the kids go to the other side of the seats just in case . After I thought maybe I had overreacted. Now I can see I didnt. (Especially because we were hit but another train on thunder mountain that trip - from behind and we were ok because we were on a uphill hike maybe? But it stuck in our minds)

To me it was something that was obviously something that should not have happened . And in the back of my mind I wonder if we will ever know the truth about what exactly happened with Austin either. I think there were some long standing issues that had not been dealt with. Call it a total hunch , a feeling , whatever. I dont think the system was operating as it should be.

I LOVE disney. Thats why I am here. But whomever was or is in charge of that stuff IMO was not doing their job. My opinion so anyone can disagree. Just my view based on experience and what info I have read.

For the record I have had rides stop before on other trips and it was no big deal. But that trip was filled with all kinds of ride issues aside from our monorail issue. I know the two are not even under the same management but I was suprised by the sheer amount and types of issues we experienced.

I am more than willing to take a monorail again. But maybe I am just stupid but I didnt quite get what Disney did to make it safer. More switch stations or something like that? Maybe its time to update the technology altogether.

And I could have sworn a cast member told me they were going to be bringing in new styles of monorails soon. Anyone hear this? ( Sorry if it was posted before)

 

[EnchantedTales]

Fox News -- the morning they first reported the accident, they were talking about why there would be people in the park that late (2am). One of the commentators said, "Well, according to the schedule I have here, the SpectroFantastic Parade was at Downtown Disney at 12:30 that night, so it's not unusual that tourists would still be heading home at 2am."

The SpectroFantastic Parade? At Downtown Disney. Really? I had no idea. So much for caring what Fox News thinks.

As for Disney re-opening the monorail ... they don't have to have a final conclusion on what exactly caused the crash in order to re-open. They need to have confirmation on what did NOT cause the crash in order to re-open. That is, they need to know that no mechanical or safety system is faulty and that the monorails are sound and safe. They can know that without necessarily having an exact cause.

All due respect to the Orlando Sentinel and other news outlets and their diagrams, until Disney, OSHA, and the NTSB release the cause, no one can say with certainty that "it was really Central's fault for not switching the tracks and that they shouldn't have had the PINK backing up without someone being sure the track was changed. Plus there should have been someone there to kill those trains." That's speculation too, until all the investigations are done.

Let's remember that there were CMs in the Central Station too, as well as one in the other train. I'm sure everyone who was working at that moment is second-guessing what they did or didn't do and wondering if they were the ones who caused their colleague's death. I would imagine that Disney wants to be sure of what happened before they point fingers anywhere.

Thank you! I couldn't agree more. Seriously at this point I have stopped listening to them, obviously they are not interested in getting their information correct. The only thing I want from the press is to be away from Disney and everyone from that family. I have been hearing that they have harassing not only CM, but apparently the family as well. I'm telling you there should be a legal way to put restraining orders against these people. They want exclusives and being first, accurate information let it be damn. I'm telling you I do not envy celebrities that deal with them everyday, it should be enough to drive anyone insane.

I'm glad that Disney is focusing in the CM and the investigation. Honestly it is where the efforts should be, and not in Fox News or the Slantinel. I'm sure that once the investigation is over there will be a report on what happen. However by then the media will have a new focus or an 'exclusive' and they no longer be interested in that story. Sad, but that's usually what happens.

I had no idea that the Spectromagic parade was in Downtown Disney. Glad Fox news set the record straight there...

 

[WDSearcher]

They just reported again on it, in addition to the above, the "on duty manager" for the monorail was offsite and having dinner at Perkins, communicating by two way radio. No joke....

They stressed that this was not the cause of the crash, but it certainly doesnt look good...

And that's what I hate. "They stressed that this was not the cause of the crash", but they had to report it anyway. It is not at ALL unusual for managers to go off-site for lunch (whether that "lunch" is at noon or at 2am, based on your shift), and to stay in communication via radio or Blackberry. There's no rule against it, and no policy that tells you that you can't. But now, by the simple fact that the news reported it, it "doesn't look good."

If it doesn't have anything to do with what actually happened, then the news shouldn't report it and then say, "Oh ...by the way ... doesn't mean anything. Just sayin'." Sheesh. It's like the media runs out of things to comment on, so they just toss in whatever is out there.

Hate that.

 

[Scraper]

I have read the reports and even if the switch did not work it seems to me that the seacond driver should have relized that he was on the wrong track. Even if he was in the back end and not the front once he seen there was a track to the right of him he should have known. I can not help but wonder what he was doing. I also wonder about the dispatch guy. Auston had time to see the other train stop and put the train in reverse. So why did the other driver just not stop. I went to google earth and looked at where the switch should have happened and there was plenty of time to stop the train before impact. I respect that Disney is careful before saying to much and I believe they are treating Austin's family with much care and respect.

 

[fan1080]

I have read the reports and even if the switch did not work it seems to me that the seacond driver should have relized that he was on the wrong track. Even if he was in the back end and not the front once he seen there was a track to the right of him he should have known. I can not help but wonder what he was doing. I also wonder about the dispatch guy. Auston had time to see the other train stop and put the train in reverse. So why did the other driver just not stop. I went to google earth and looked at where the switch should have happened and there was plenty of time to stop the train before impact. I respect that Disney is careful before saying to much and I believe they are treating Austin's family with much care and respect.

All of your questions are exactly why we have the NTSB's and other health and safety organizations. They will review all those things and put together a report that details how and why it happened, and more importantly, what can be done to prevent it from happening again.

We don't know the procedures that are used at the end of the night to transfer the monorails to other beams. Therefore, there is no need to speculate on this. Doing so can lead to unfortunate things being said that will more than likely do nothing but add fuel to a fire that doesn't need it.