Fourth of July Monorail Incident

[kurtisnelson]

All Cast Members be advised: The NTSB has issued an order making it illegal for CMs to talk to anyone outside of the company about the incident. This includes friends, family, and most definitely the press.

Well it's a little late for that order now...

[Syndrome]

The NTSB is making its own statements now. They somehow determined that Austin tried to back up right before the crash: http://bit.ly/12vmRw

I'm kind of surprised they're releasing things already.

[Shorty82]

Well it's a little late for that order now...

Well, now that it has been issued we have to obey it. This will also help out cast as a few have been pestered by the press.

[February]

Well, now that it has been issued we have to obey it. This will also help out cast as a few have been pestered by the press.

I'm glad, Shorty. Now those who can truly understand (inside the CM family) can discuss it with each other- and everyone else will have no choice but to give them the space they need to try to begin to cope with this. I'm sure it's frustrating for immediate family members that they can't talk about it but for everybody else it's probably a better thing for the cms overall.

I am glad that the press will have no choice but to back off now.

hugs to you all
bru

ps everybody i haven't made out the card yet had an unexpected situation come up today that means I'll fill it out just before I mail it tomorrow- I also wanted to say this is an 'unofficial' card as far as I didn't mean to imply I'm acting on behalf of SGT in any way- just sending a card on my own and wanted to see if you guys wanted to add your names. I'll check pms in the morning as I've had little sleep and can't keep my eyes open.

[Goofyernmost]

With respect, those of us in the railroad industry -- and I should think this includes monorails -- don't use the word "accident". We use the word "wreck".

"Accident" suggests that someone made an innocent mistake, and it's unlikely to happen again. "Wreck" carries no such false baggage, and focuses on causes and results.

A "Wreck" is the result of a combination of failures, and these can come in several forms:
* System design failure,
* Operating procedure failure,
* Mechanical failure, and
* Human failure.

It would appear that the failures in this case were a combination of Human failure and either Operating procedure failure or System design failure. Robust systems do not permit a single Human failure to trigger a wreck.

If some element of the operation is susceptible to that, then one needs to either modify the system design to provide a mechanical or electronic safety system to back up the humans, or a change in the operating procedure so that more than one simultaneous human failure is required for a wreck to happen.

From the speed with which the system was put back in service and some details in the Disney press releases, it would appear that the Company modified the OG to provide another layer of human checks. Let us all pray that this proves sufficient for now, and that the NTSB report calls for changes in the system design in the longer term.


Sorry if some of my posts here seem angry -- I am. Safety is not that complicated, but it does require a commitment from both the front-line operators and their entire management to make sure it happens. As we used to say on the railroad, "Safe operation is no accident." No, it's the result of starting with a safe mind-set, and following through.

Believe me when I tell you that I fully understand your anger and frustration in that you are so close to the situation and your inside knowledge is leading the way here, but please don't pick on words. They mean the same thing...accident...wreck...whatever. The same end results have happened. The same investigation will happen. The fact that all of us are not privy to "train" lingo, doesn't alter that fact or change how we feel about it. This "wreck" will be investigated and the fact remains that it is not an everyday event. Something, possibly a number of things, lead up to the wreck. My post was not meant to belittle the event and certainly my ignorance of the proper terminology doesn't alter that either.

Sorry about how you perceived that...considering the situation that you personally are experiencing at the moment, I'm sure isn't helping to lighten your mood at all. I didn't mean to offend anyone by the use of the word "accident" and my message was meant as support for the monorail drivers and the difficult situation that they unwittingly find themselves in right now. I sincerely hope that the message of support came through.

[turkeyham]

When I came to CA in the 1970's, mu parents took my family to Disneyland around Christmas time. The monorails at that time had the cabin in the front and back. We asked if we could ride in the front and at that time the cast members were not allowing anyone to sit in the front and back cabins for their safety. We got to sit in the regular sitting areas. The last time I got to sit in the front cabin was with BW last Sept with my sister and cousin. Otherwide we do sit in the middle and enjoy the ride.

[Syndrome]

Mr. Syndrome and I used to always do at least one front cabin ride on each trip. When we moved to FL, we didn't ask too often because we figured we could do it any time. Little did we know...who could ever have imagined that a tragedy would change that? I remember our last ride in the front. We were in with a grandma and her grandaughter on their very first Disney World trip. It was so special seeing things through their eyes. I love talking to first-timers because it brings more of the magic back for me to see their delight. I kept thinking of that when I saw the video with Austin and that family.

[felinefan]

On the site for Metrolink, as well as Operation Lifesaver, the word used for an accident is "incident". I've noticed that in reading the daily train summaries they are sometimes worded, "incident involving a trespasser", or "incident involving a collision between a car and a train". According to Operation Lifesaver, "incident" is preferred, because accident means it was avoidable and someone is to blame; incident is used when the facts of what exactly happened haven't been sorted out yet. The media uses the term "accident".

[Honda Enoch]

Anybody else find it a bit morbid for the Sentinel to be asking for photos and video of crash?

Not really. It's the media, they have to have as much detail information to post as possible.

[Malpass93]

I know that what I'm going to say here has been echoed many a time lately, and is also rather late, but nevertheless, I'll continue.

While I may not have been here at SGT that long, nor did I know Austin (or any CM), I couldn't help but break down after I heard the news. Unlike most here, I didn't find out in the local press, or television news reports, or news websites, I found out here. The incident wasn't reported over here, so I had no clue, and it wasn't until I logged on here that I found out. Whilst it may be true that 1 death in 38 years is one heck of a safety record, it is still one more death than should happen. My thoughts are certainly with Austin, his family and his friends, and of course anyone who is struggling with the grief, such as the driver of Monorail Pink, or anyone here. From what I've heard about the lad, he sounds like the epitome of a happy cast member, the ideal CM.