NTSB – Page 6 – Railfanning.org

Inspector Gives NTSB Clean Bill

November 18, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — For the seventh consecutive year the National Transportation Safety Board’s financial statements received an unqualified, or “clean,” opinion from the Department of Transportation Inspector General. The results are from an audit conducted on the Safety Board’s financial statements for Fiscal Year 2009. The opinion comes at a time when the Board has realized improvement in several management measurements. “As proud as I am of the continuing professionalism of the NTSB’s accident investigations,” NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman said, “I am gratified that the agency has demonstrated achievement in its stewardship of taxpayer resources.” Recently, the Government Accountability Office issued

NTSB Announces Hearing on Fatal WMATA Wreck

November 12, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON – The National Transportation Safety Board today announced that it will hold a public hearing on February 23-24, 2010, as part of its ongoing investigation into the collision of two Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) Metrorail Red Line trains on June 22 that occurred between the Fort Totten and Takoma Park stations in Washington, D.C. As a result of this accident, there were nine fatalities and numerous injuries. The two-day hearing will convene on Tuesday, February 23, 2010, at the NTSB’s Board Room and Conference Center, 429 L’Enfant Plaza, S.W., Washington. The purpose of the hearing will be

NTSB Releases Info on Fatal Iowa Wreck

October 2, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — In its continuing investigation of a freight train accident in July in Iowa, killing two, the NTSB has developed the following factual information: — At approximately 2:08 a.m. CDT on July 14, 2009, a southbound Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad (DME) train consisting of two locomotives and 83 freight cars collided with railcars that had been placed on a track on the west side of the Bettendorf rail yard (located in the city of Bettendorf, Iowa) by a BNSF train crew. Both of the crewmembers on the DME train, an engineer and a conductor, were fatally injured in

NTSB Fills Senior Management Positions

September 23, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman this week filled two senior management positions at the agency. David L. Mayer was named Managing Director, the senior career position at the Safety Board. Mayer has been Deputy Managing Director since January 2005. Mayer began his career at the Safety Board in 1991 in the Office of Research and Engineering, where he was responsible for transportation safety databases, and for the design and management of safety studies. In 1996 he moved to the Office of Aviation Safety, where he worked on a number of the Board’s investigations. He was

NTSB Identifies Signal Failure in DC Crash

September 22, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has issued nine safety recommendations, six of which are urgent, as part of its investigation into the collision between two Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) trains on June 22, 2009. The trains crashed on the Red Line near the Fort Totten station in Washington. The NTSB’s recommendations address concerns about the safety of train control systems that use audio frequency track circuits, authorities said. As part of its investigation, the NTSB said it discovered that a failure occurred in which a spurious signal generated by a track circuit module transmitter mimicked

Hart Designated Vice Chairman of NTSB

August 20, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama has designated National Transportation Safety Board Member Christopher A. Hart as the agency’s Vice Chairman. Hart was sworn in as a Member of the NTSB on August 12 to a term that ends December 31, 2012. His term as Vice Chairman will run for two years. Vice Chairman Hart comes to the Board after a long career in transportation safety, including a previous term as a Member of the NTSB during the 1990s. He most recently was Deputy Director for Air Traffic Safety Oversight at the Federal Aviation Administration. He is an aerospace engineer, attorney,

NTSB Releases Wreck Site Back to WMATA

July 31, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board released the site of the Ft. Totten accident back to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). The site, located on the Red Line between Ft. Totten and Takoma stations in Washington, D.C., was the scene of the fatal collision of two WMATA trains on June 22, 2009. The NTSB’s Signal and Train Control Group has completed its examination and testing of train control equipment at the scene of the accident. Therefore, the accident site, including the track, has been released back to WMATA. As part of the ongoing investigation, the NTSB is

Hersman Takes Helm at NTSB

July 28, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — Deborah A.P. Hersman, who has been a Member of the National Transportation Safety Board for 5 years, was sworn in as the agency’s 12th Chairman. Hersman was nominated for the two-year term as Chairman by President Barack Obama on June 18 and confirmed by the United States Senate on July 24. She was also nominated and confirmed for a second five-year term as Board Member, which runs through December 31, 2013. “The NTSB is an outstanding organization that commands respect across the globe for its comprehensive investigations of transportation accidents,” Hersman said. “I am grateful to have this

NTSB: WMATA Track Tircuit’s Train Occupancy Signal Fluctuating Since 2007

July 23, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board continues to make progress in its investigation of the June 22, 2009, collision of two Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) trains on the Red Line in Washington, D.C. The Board has developed the following factual information: Two signal companies, Ansaldo STS USA (US&S) and Alstom Signaling Inc. (GRS), that designed and manufactured the automatic train control components for the WMATA system, are providing technical assistance to the NTSB investigation. As previously reported, an impedance bond (No. 15) for the track circuit where the accident occurred was replaced on June 17, five days

NTSB: Driver Blacked Out in San Fran Wreck; Cell Phone Not an Issue

July 22, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

SAN FRANCISCO — In its continuing investigation of the collision between two San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) light rail trains on Saturday, injuring more than 40 people, NTSB Acting Chairman Mark V. Rosenker has announced the following factual information: At about 2:50 p.m. PDT on Saturday, July 18, 2009, an L Line train struck the rear of a K Line train at the West Portal Station in San Francisco. Data captured by recorders in the train control center indicated that the L Line train was switched from automatic to manual mode while stopped in the tunnel at the same