Driver killed in monorail crash....

[timon711]

I have read the entire thread and I didn't read anything describing the point of impact location on the tracks.

I know it was at the TTC, but has it been confirmed if the collision took place inside or outside of the station? The video was obviously inside (to me it looked as if the point where pink an purple were sitting was nearly the center of the station) whereas the still photo I saw looked as if the rear of pink and nose of purple were outside of the station. Can anyone clarify at what point on the tracks did the collision happen?

Sorry for all involved.

 

[Experiment_626]

I have read the entire thread and I didn't read anything describing the point of impact location on the tracks.

I know it was at the TTC, but has it been confirmed if the collision took place inside or outside of the station? The video was obviously inside (to me it looked as if the point where pink an purple were sitting was nearly the center of the station) whereas the still photo I saw looked as if the rear of pink and nose of purple were outside of the station. Can anyone clarify at what point on the tracks did the collision happen?

The story I heard was that the crash actually happened at the point you see in the video. A little later, the trains were moved to where you see them in the still photos so that the pilot of Monorail Pink could safely exit the cockpit within the loading station.

SSB

 

[timon711]

The story I heard was that the crash actually happened at the point you see in the video. A little later, the trains were moved to where you see them in the still photos so that the pilot of Monorail Pink could safely exit the cockpit within the loading station.

SSB

Thanks! I know this terrible accident is hard to comprehend. I just couldn't make sense out of the location of the impact point. My thinking was, if it happened inside the station, did the pink train push the purple that far back? Because the cockpit of the purple should have been all the way to one end, right? And if it happened outside, it looked as if purple would've been too close to the station to have been stopped waiting there to pull in.

Thanks again for the reply.

 

[LadyGracey]

This is such a sad story. My thoughts and prayers go out to this young man's family, and to all the countless CMs who are affected personally by this tragedy.

I have been reading threads on *other* forums about this topic that have become extremely contentious and downright nasty--so thank you, fellow DISers, for maintaining respect, both in regards to those involved in the incident, and each other.



That said--I read elsewhere that the nose cones of the monorails are without any serious structural framework--possibly designed to act as a buffer or crumple zone to reduce passenger injuries in the event of collision. With all the talk about how MAPO is designed to prevent accidents (and the fact Disney has allowed guests to ride in the front cabs for so long) they must have considered the probability of an actual collision to be very low, and perhaps saw little need to reinforce these cabs to better protect pilots.

I wonder now if they will consider putting an emergency exit door or hatch in the rear wall of the cabs so that a pilot can exit safely into the car behind in case of an emergency. Not that that would have prevented this awful tragedy--but there are certainly good reasons for having another means for drivers to escape, other than the existing doors or roof hatch.

 

[SandrA9810]

The fact that the monorail was outside the station seemed impossible for it to hit the purple and push it that far back. If it hit inside the station that's still quite a distance to be pushed by the pink.

It's not quite the middle. If you look closely in the video, the direction he walks away in you can tell they're still in the first half. And to the side is the water fountain that's in the middle.

 

[monetnj]

Just saw a link to this video on another board. It was made by a former monorail pilot explaining what happened. Don't know if it his opinion or straight from the horses mouth, but sounds feasible and seems in line with the other explanations that have been offered here so far:

http://thedisneyblog.com/2009/07/05/former-monorail-pilots-explanation-of-crash/

The pilot basically says that, as with many accidents of this type, multiple failures occurred. The monorail shop misinforms that the switch from the EPCOT line to the MK Express Line is in place. The pilot of monorail pink should have been able to see via the side view mirrors that the proper switch did not occur and the monorail was continuing to back up on the EPCOT line. The lack of someone physically at the post at Monorail Central Command means nobody was there to witness what was about to happen and hit the kill switch. TTC CMs in the station could have also hit an emergency kill switch. Finally, the pilot of purple did not hit the reverse switch and avoid the collision.

Looks like many things went wrong at once and ended in a horrific tragedy. My thoughts are with Austin's family as they deal with the loss of their son.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

This is so sad. I feel so sorry for this young man's family. 21 years old on the Disney college program and something like this happens. So sad. The one thing that surprises me is that such a young cm was operating the monerail. I guess I always assumed that cm with a lot of seniority drove them.

 

[jb.brooks]

So are all lines shut down pending investigation or is all back to normal?

 

[Tampa Mousekeeter]

I just heard on my local news the entire monorail system is closed down for the investigation and they do not know when it will be running...

 

[appleorchard]

I read the report from the former cast member, but I still don't understand it. If pink was going in reverse, wouldn't the driver have been sitting in the cab still outside the station--at the other end of the train? Same thing for purple--the cab he was in would have been at the other end if he was backing in. The driver of purple must have been at the cab at the other end of the monorail, not the one that was hit, to walk away without injury, or else he was very fortunate.

This also looks like an awful lot of damage for a 15 mile an hour crash.

And just to defend everyone who has asked for details, we totally have every right to every detail out there on why this happened. We and our families ride these trains and we are entitled to know how this happened and why. We certainly aren't entitled to know everything about the young man involved, unless it pertains to this accident, but I don't think there's been an overabundance of "nosiness", just people looking for answers they should have, if Disney expects us to entrust ourselves and our families to the care of their transportation system.

And yes, I agree that a large appeal of the monorail hotels is the monorail, and that without it, their value drops. They're still nice hotels, but location, location, location. If the monorails are out of commisssion for any amount of time(and maybe they need to be, so Disney can get this done right) a cost adjustment should be made for the monorail hotels.

I bawled through the video and saw no reason why it should be removed. It was heartbreaking but also inspiring to see people trying to help.

I pray that God will be with Austin's family. What a tragedy for any family to go through.

All just my two cents.

 

[Goofy4]

This also looks like an awful lot of damage for a 15 mile an hour crash.

With or without braking, there's a lot of weight in motion there to bring to a quick stop. It's also possible that the motors didn't stop immediately at impact.

 

[soupy11]

This also looks like an awful lot of damage for a 15 mile an hour crash.

.

When you think of all that mass involved, it makes sense for there to be a lot of damage.

 

[SueM in MN]

Without braking, there's a lot of weight in motion there to bring to a quick stop. It's also possible that the motors didn't stop immediately at impact.

Besides, it has been reported that the front cab of the monorail has very little framework. It is basically a fiberglass shell with a plexiglass window. If hit, it would just crumple.
Since all the trains on the same track are on a continous loop and go in the same direction, there was probably little thought that the front cab of a monorail could be hit like this.

After doing an investigation to see just where the failed points in the process or equipment were, I'm sure changes will be made in both procedures and equipment to make sure this never happens again. This has been pretty big news all over - it was one of the lead stories that was 'teased' during the evening on the Minneapolis news Sunday night. With that kind of interest, I'm sure the accident report and corrections will also be news.

Sending my thoughts and prayers to all CMs for the loss of one of the CM family, especially CMs in transportation.

 

[Jeanine3kids]

Does anyone know if the monorail is open now????????????????

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

I have been so upset over the crash and the terrible loss of a 21 year old.

It was determined that the metro crash in DC two weeks ago was a computer malfunction. I was in Disney when that happened and worried about the monorail system. My husband said the monorail was much safer than metro and wished DC had build monorails instead of the metro system.

Just so sad.

 

[Jeanine3kids]

I don't get how the monorail crashed I didn't think is was possible for it to go off its track this whole think is very sad and freaky

 

[Kurby]

I'm all caught up. So sad the kid was only 21!! Poor guy. God bless him. My thoughts and prayers go out to the family.

And really whoever the sicko is who has the video of the accident is just horrible. Sorry.

well just to say that news people take video of all kinds of sad, horrible disturbing video and show it all the time. from fires to car crashes to.... well... 911

most if not all news stations announce everday that if you see news film it and send it to them.

since that was news, huge news you can't really fault the guy for filming it. he didn't film the poor driver. actually at that point i'm not sure they realized the driver was oin there until near the end of the video.

 

[Robo]

I didn't think is was possible for it to go off its track

It didn't.

 

[dzorn]

Does anyone know if the monorail is open now????????????????

All shut down again today.

My thoughts and prayers go out to all involved.

Denise in MI

 

[Cmbar]

I'm all caught up. So sad the kid was only 21!! Poor guy. God bless him. My thoughts and prayers go out to the family.

And really whoever the sicko is who has the video of the accident is just horrible. Sorry.

No flaming Lynn, but I really don't understand why you think this guy was a sicko? I am grateful to see all the people helping and don't understand why this had to be cut off. Just curious why you think he was sick. Others stated clearly they called the fire department and there were more than enough guests trying to help (in my opinion more than the Monorail CM whose biggest concern was to turn the camera guy away). I guess people see things differently. I certainly am thanful for the people who tape things on the scenes. Think of all the things we wouldn't know about with some of those home made videos. I mean we all watched the towers fall on live TV and what about the short videos of students fleeing the Virginia Tech shootings. These were tragic but we see heroism too.

My heart goes out to Austin's family. I hope Disney does right by them. That will be sicko if Disney doesn't do right by this family as the most preliminary reports seem that Austin was not at fault and mostly had to stand there and get hit. IT is very sad.