Monorail Crash

[theweave]

Unfortunately, based on the photos, I can imagine what the CM saw to declare him dead. There are some conditions where its obvioius.

Our prayers go out to the CM's friends and family and all out beloved WDW CM's.

The CM never declared him dead, at least I didn't hear that being said in the video... correct me if I am wrong. At first I did not hear the girls screaming but did when I went back and watched again.

But you are right, hard to imagine any one surviving that crash, would have been a miracle!

 

[MEK]

The video is disturbing and an unnecessary death is heart wrenching. The only small consolation is that more people were not on the monorail and that no one else was riding up front at the time of the accident.

 

[fla4fun]

I know.

In theory--they could operate the resort and MK tracks much sooner than the EPCOT track.

That portion of the redline that was closed immediately was due to wreckage needing removal as well as for investigative purposes. Other than that the whole metro system operated on manual.

My point was that OSHA wouldn't shut down the entire monorail for an extended period of time.

goin2disneyagain: I wasn't disputing your post--I was simply asking about the possibility that Disney can open the other tracks if they deem it is safe to do so long before the investigation is complete in the accident as they did in Washington since those tracks are completely separate.

I was hoping the poster whose husband works for disney would know--or any other folks would know.

Very sad all around.

I agree. I'm sure they won't have the monorails down any longer than necessary. Once they have determined whether it was human error or not, they will have a better handle on whether they can resume operations right away. If, as has been supposed, a monorail was given instructions to override MAPO and move to a location that was already occupied, I would think the monorails, at least those on tracks not directly impacted by the accident, could resume operations with new policies in place to help prevent future accidents. They may choose to implement upgrades to their trains, such as rear view cameras or something, as an additional layer of safety, but that could be integrated without disrupting service. If they determine it was a failure of the automatic safety systems and not human error, then I would expect it to be down longer - until all the trains could be upgraded or replaced. Either way, when they do come back, I won't be afraid to ride them. I know Disney takes every reasonable precaution to keep their guests safe on their transportation and in their attractions.

Unfortunately, tragic accidents happen far more often than we would hope. Whether it's planes, trains, boats or automobiles, they are equally difficult to comprehend and accept, especially when the possibility of human error arises. I really feel for the family of the CM, as well as the families who were riding the monorail at the time. My prayers are for them right now. They have to really be hurting.

 

[theweave]

From what I have read, the accident is being investigated by the Orange County Sherriff and the Occupational Safety and Health Organization.

Sounds pretty standard to me.

 

[CanadianGuy]

There is a good summary of this posted on the News & Rumors board..

Apparently ... the driver that died was in the stationary - purple train. He was waiting at station for permission to depart.

Meanwhile, pink train gets clearance to back into station with the 'collision avoidance' system turned off because it's a manual move. Driver of pink train is at the far end of the train and 'reversing' ... So he can't see the cabin of the purple train or know that it's there.

Since the sightlines are so bad for that kind of move, you rely on Monorail Control to tell you that you're 'good to go'.

Just a terrible terrible accident on the part of a series of human errors and system failures, which the odds would be astronomical against occurring in a cascade like that ... if the info posted on rumors is true.

Tragic and sad.

Knox

 

[theweave]

Interesting... if correct than the driver of the moving monorail survived and can help investigators!

I also read somewhere that these monorails have black boxes in them too!

 

[Disney_Gram]

How tragic! I was so shocked and saddend when my daughter called me at work and told me what had happened. My prayers will be with the CM and his family as well as all those involved. I always enjoy the monorail, and never once have every given any thought to any problems that could occur with them. My grandsons have had the opportunity to ride in the front on 2 different occasions. Something that I am sure Disney will reconsider in the future. Again a sad day for the Disney family.

 

[NYY2SMP]

There is a good summary of this posted on the News & Rumors board..

Apparently ... the driver that died was in the stationary - purple train. He was waiting at station for permission to depart.

Meanwhile, pink train gets clearance to back into station with the 'collision avoidance' system turned off because it's a manual move. Driver of pink train is at the far end of the train and 'reversing' ... So he can't see the cabin of the purple train or know that it's there.

Since the sightlines are so bad for that kind of move, you rely on Monorail Control to tell you that you're 'good to go'.

Just a terrible terrible accident on the part of a series of human errors and system failures, which the odds would be astronomical against occurring in a cascade like that ... if the info posted on rumors is true.

Tragic and sad.

Knox

I read that to on another site. I feel sorry for the family and hope this will never happen again. I think now that this has happened the chance of people still riding in the front of the monorail is slim to none due to this could have resulted in alot more deaths and sad friends and families had people been in front. my only question is why didn't somebody watching the tracks stop this and how fast was the moving monorail going?

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

There is a good summary of this posted on the News & Rumors board..

Apparently ... the driver that died was in the stationary - purple train. He was waiting at station for permission to depart.

Meanwhile, pink train gets clearance to back into station with the 'collision avoidance' system turned off because it's a manual move. Driver of pink train is at the far end of the train and 'reversing' ... So he can't see the cabin of the purple train or know that it's there.

Since the sightlines are so bad for that kind of move, you rely on Monorail Control to tell you that you're 'good to go'.

Just a terrible terrible accident on the part of a series of human errors and system failures, which the odds would be astronomical against occurring in a cascade like that ... if the info posted on rumors is true.

Tragic and sad.

Knox

If that information is true thanks for posting that update on here.

 

[lo2e]

The Disney Blog (http://thedisneyblog.com/) seems to have the best potential explanation(s) that I've seen.

In summary:
-The pink monorail broke down on the Epcot loop shortly after leaving the station
-Monorail Control was going to have the pink monorail reverse and switch over to the MK or hotel loop in order to be brought back to the maintenance facility
-The line switch did not happen, which is why the pink monorail continued to reverse on the Epcot loop
-Because it was reversing, the pink monorail's safety feature was disabled
-The purple monorail couldn't have backed out of the platform because its safety feature was enabled and engaged (either because of the close proximity of the pink monorail or because a line switch was attempted, albeit too late)

Very tragic indeed, no matter what the consequences.

 

[marc1477]

How terrible and very very sad.

 

[aquaticmom]

First, my thoughts and prayers are with the family of the young man who lost his life in this horrific accident. I am confused by the pictures that CNN has posted on their site. They show the two monorails wrecked against each other on an overhead rail and the video shows the monorails at a transportation center?

 

[RACHELSMOM1]

How awful, my thoughts go out to the family, friends and co-workers of the driver who was tragically killed.

The WDW monorail is one of the safest means of mass-transport in the world, but still whenever you are dealing with moving vehicles there is always the possibility that something can go wrong no matter how careful you are. There is meant to be a fail-safe which stops the train if the track ahead is occupied, so something must have gone seriously wrong; I can't see the service being re-opened for some time.

At least it wasn't between two full trains earlier in the day, or the number of fatalities could have been even worse - imagine if there had been a family riding up front with the driver.

Andre

Told the kiddos today that we don't want to ride up front ever again!!

 

[Tara]

First, my thoughts and prayers are with the family of the young man who lost his life in this horrific accident. I am confused by the pictures that CNN has posted on their site. They show the two monorails wrecked against each other on an overhead rail and the video shows the monorails at a transportation center?

I wondered the same thing...is it possible the trains were moved away from the platform sometime after the accident and that's when the photo posted on CNN was taken? (Even though I don't know how it would be possible to do this.)

 

[mjperry]

I woke up this morning from a sound sleep @ 3:45am and for some strange reason checked twitter and saw the news could not believe it.
My heart goes out to the family as well as all the WDW cast members.
I will keep you all in my prayers.

 

[Len90]

Greetings from WDW (for the next 5 days). Here is some information regarding the monorail incident: The monorails are most likely not going to be running tomorrow. The monorails as of 11:30pm edt are still sitting in the station where the incident occurred with a wall blocking the impact area. There is bus service with a part of it being handled by third party companies. There are trains parked from the mk resort lines in stations. Black is sitting at the magic kingdom and lime is at the grand Floridian. There is a somber mood among the Disney transport cast members. It is a real tragedy and condolences go out to the family.

 

[phlufster]

There is a good summary of this posted on the News & Rumors board..

Apparently ... the driver that died was in the stationary - purple train. He was waiting at station for permission to depart.

Meanwhile, pink train gets clearance to back into station with the 'collision avoidance' system turned off because it's a manual move. Driver of pink train is at the far end of the train and 'reversing' ... So he can't see the cabin of the purple train or know that it's there.

Since the sightlines are so bad for that kind of move, you rely on Monorail Control to tell you that you're 'good to go'.

Just a terrible terrible accident on the part of a series of human errors and system failures, which the odds would be astronomical against occurring in a cascade like that ... if the info posted on rumors is true.

Tragic and sad.

Knox

There is no way the pink monroail could be going that fast in reverse, they only get up to 40 going forward.

There was a report from a witness on the platform that said the pink monorail was parked at the TTC on the Epcot side when the driver of the purple monorail failed to stop and crashed into the back of it.


As far as I know, the communications are recorded so hopefully they will have some answers soon.

 

[aristocatz]

First, my thoughts and prayers are with the family of the young man who lost his life in this horrific accident. I am confused by the pictures that CNN has posted on their site. They show the two monorails wrecked against each other on an overhead rail and the video shows the monorails at a transportation center?

Your question is answered here (taken from http://thedisneyblog.com/):

"One more thing: the photo taken of the two trains stuck together while over the TTC Esplanade appears to have been snapped after the video. They had to move the two trains back so the nose cone of Monorail Pink could be in station and that pilot could be evacuated."

 

[nnanciejean]

As the mother of a monorail cast member, I am so saddened by the news of the accident. It's great to see so many on here that are supportive of why the monorail system was shut down for a day. On the other hand, it is also heartbreaking to see others who worry only about their travel being slightly interrupted due to such a tragic circumstance. The cast members work at Disney because they truly love being part of the magic that the guests experience on their vacations. As many know, Disney isn't the top payer in the area, but many still feel honored to work there. I know that's how my child feels. Cast members are encouraged to let children look and touch the controls during their ride. This is no way affects the safety.

The accident that happened wasn't under normal circumstances. The wdwmagic.com website has a very good detailed drawing of what went wrong and why the accident happened. Different procedures are put in place at the beginning and the end of each day to get the trains to and from the shop. This is why it happened.

The monorail cast members are hurting deeply to lose such a wonderful young man. Working at Disney appears different than your other normal job. These people are part of a family and feel the pain and joy in what their fellow cast members are going through.

So yesterday as I was getting updates about the happenings, my husband and I couldn't help but shed some tears for this young man and his family. Although we did not know him, our child did.

 

[seashoreCM]

Can trains still get between the Magic Kingdom and the storage facilities? If the accident left the switching tracks blocked then it might not be possible to get a non-electric rescue vehicle out to push a disabled train. This may be enough to keep all of the monorails out of service.