2009 Walt Disney World monorail accident
| Walt Disney World Monorail accident | |
|---|---|
 The rear cab of Monorail Pink(left), and the front cab of Monorail Purple(right) after the collision. | |
 | |
| Details | |
| Date | 5 July 2009 |
| Location | Transportation and Ticket Center |
| Operator | Walt Disney World |
| Statistics | |
| Deaths | 1 |
| Injured | 7 |
On July 5, 2009, two monorails of the Walt Disney World Monorail System collided at the Transportation & Ticket Center killing one pilot and injuring seven others. The National Transportation Safety Board found the probable cause of the incident to be the operator's failure to properly position the track switch, compounded by the monorail manager authorizing the reverse movement of Monorail Pink without verifying that the switch was positioned properly.
Collision
[edit]On July 5, 2009, during a failed track switchover from the Epcot line onto the Magic Kingdom express line, Monorail Pink backed into Monorail Purple at the Transportation & Ticket Center station, killing Monorail Purple's pilot, 21-year-old Austin Wuennenberg of Kissimmee, Florida.[1] One employee and six guests who were also on the trains were treated at the scene and released.[2] The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and park officials inspected the monorail line. The monorail reopened on July 6, 2009 after new sensors and operating procedures were put in place.[3][4]
Aftermath
[edit]An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found no mechanical problems with the trains or track, but did find that the track used in the switchover was not in its proper place for the track transition. The NTSB also noted that Monorail Purple's pilot attempted to reverse his train when he saw that there was going to be a collision. Disney placed three monorail employees on paid administrative leave as a result of the incident.[5] On October 31, 2011, the NTSB issued its findings on this incident, citing the probable cause as the shop panel operator's failure to properly align the switch beam before the monorail train was directed to reverse through it. As a result of this incident, cab riding for guests was discontinued.[6] OSHA proposed a total of $44,000 fines against Disney for safety violations, but that amount was later reduced to $35,200.[7]
See Also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "1 Dead in Disney World Monorail Crash". WESH. July 5, 2009. Archived from the original on July 7, 2009. Retrieved July 5, 2009.
- ^ "Deadly Disney Crash Investigated". WKMG-TV Channel 6 Orlando, FL. July 6, 2009. Archived from the original on July 8, 2009. Retrieved July 5, 2009.
- ^ Garcia, Jason (July 6, 2009). "Disney World will reopen monorail – with extra safety features". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on July 8, 2009. Retrieved July 6, 2009.
- ^ Garcia, Jason (July 9, 2009). "Disney Monorail Crash: Disney's monorail procedures changed in years leading up to accident". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on July 11, 2009. Retrieved July 10, 2009.
- ^ Phillips, Rich (July 9, 2009). "Disney monorail workers placed on leave after crash". CNN. Archived from the original on July 15, 2009. Retrieved July 10, 2009.
- ^ "Railroad Accident Brief – Collision of Two Monorails in Walt Disney World Resort". National Transportation Safety Board. October 31, 2011. Archived from the original on January 3, 2015. Retrieved October 31, 2011.
- ^ "US Department of Labor's OSHA cites Walt Disney World following monorail collision and issues recommendation letter following actor's death". Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Press release). Retrieved May 19, 2022.
External links
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