Fourth of July Monorail Incident

[mapo]

I just saw Austin's photograph. I knew him.

Not well, just to trade remarks about how bad Aramark food is, but that's one of the fundamental bonds all cast members share.

"Big goofy kid having the time of his life," is how I'd describe him from our brief contacts. Here he is, a monorail pilot at 21, when I had to wait until I was 45 before I could become a Disney railroad conductor. No wonder he had an easy smile.

I curse this surgery now that will likely prevent me attending a memorial service to represent those cast who will be working that day and to show his family how large his impact.

Yeah, Austin was a great kid. He was really "living the dream" and always, always very aware of his role and the safety elements. He and I managed to have a few conversations -- he got it. He got it all. Not many get what it really means to do what a true, pixie dust in your blood, bring it on and let's have some fun with it cast members do every single day.

He will be missed.

Zazu, could you PM me memorial service information? I will not be in the Kingdom proper for a bit with all that is going on to get that information.

I can say that I am a bit dismayed how many are throwing out their idea of what happened. Or discussing what we do know and don't know. Or even discussing operational (proprietary) information here.

I can tell you that WDW and OSHA do not know what happened, yet. I know that these monorails will not move until they know. I can tell you while the public and most WDW cast will never know what truly happened -- unbelievable amounts of hours and resources are being applied to find out.

We owe it to Austin.

We owe it to every CM and guest who drives, rides, or works in monorails.

We also need to honor the memory of Austin by not making this a spectacle. He would have hated that. A cast member is not the show, just an integral part of it.

So I am asking each of you. Please, do not make the rumor mongering take control of us. The media is doing enough of that already. It is hard enough knowing we lost someone, then facing these guests and media people hoping for a 'sound bite' as we try to do our jobs. Today was a tough day. Tomorrow will be tougher. And I just hope I can get some sleep tonight to help with our tough days ahead.

Peace, Love and Mickey!

MAPO

[felinefan]

Dang, I'm beginning to hate the fact that when I sign off of Hotmail after reading my emails, it goes to MSN. That's where I saw there had been a monorail crash.

I noticed, once again, it was a poplular young man who had all his ducks in a row, had great plans, who had those plans brutally ended. Bad enough that in the 1800s, railroad companies fought tooth and nail to keep safety equipment off the trains, because they cost more than the employees who were killed--along with hundreds of passengers, some famous, some innocent children--a brakeman could be hired for $1.50 a day, but an automatic braking system cost hundreds of thousands of dollars back then, if not millions. Train crews were cannon fodder. After that crash at Chatsworth involving a Metrolink train out here last year, they're finally putting in new automatic braking systems, plus a second person in the cab; no texting allowed.

Whether it's true or not that Monorail pilots are told they will have to give up their lives should something go terribly wrong with the system, in this day and age, there's no reason that anyone should have to go to work wondering if they're going to make it home at the end of their shift, unless they're a cop or a firefighter. No reason why the Monorail cabs can't be made to be as crash-resistant as the rest of the train. I mean, when was the last time you rode in a car, and the passenger sections were much safer than the driver's seat? Makes no sense.

Unfortunately, sometimes it's a fact that somebody has to die before changes are instituted. I mean, how long will theme parks put the spin on these accidents, using their catchphrase of "human error" , especially when the poor guy isn't there to defend himself? I'm really worried about the workplace now; bad enough older workers like me are getting pushed aside to make room for the eyecandy kids, despite anti-discrimination laws, but for employers to go back 75 to 100 years or more and blame the employee for their injury or death? I have a feeling something's going to come out of this, and employers aren't going to get away with it. Yes, I agree one death in 38 years is an admirable safety record, but do you think young Austin's family sees it that way?

While I'm quite relieved to know it wasn't anyone here, nevertheless it was, as some of you have posted, a guy who was a joy to be around, and I'm still struggling with why it had to be someone like him. As I said, he seemed to have everything going for him, and all of a sudden it's taken away. I've been told that everyone has a house being built for them in Heaven, and when it's finished, they die. If you consider the stillborn babies you must wonder how a house could be built in such short order; do they go instead to a heavenly nursery, where their crib has been assembled? And what about people who live past a hundred years--do they have ornate castles? We may never know, but though I didn't know him, from what some of you have posted, it's possible he may have given his life to save his guests. He's a hero. I think it would be appropriate to remember him that way.

[DonohoFlnkr]

I want to re-iterate this Zazu....even during this tragedy, while I was looking at news stories on it, the AOL one had a list of 15 or 20 theme park accidents. Four were Disney (counting this one) two of them were pre-existing conditions and one was likely pre-existing conditions. These were accidents that happened since '06 or '07, so 2 or 3 years with only 1 accident that could possibly not be because of a pre-existing condition I think is pretty amazing.

Allow me to expand even further.
The public and media totally blow things like this out of proportion when it comes to safety. Much like when a plane crashes and they holler for more safety regulations then get into their car and drive 45 mins- 1 hour to work each day, not realizing that the higher percentage and numbers of deaths each year come from automobile accidents.

1 fatality in 38 years x how many runs per day x how many passengers and drivers? It's unfortunate, but the media will probably cover it unfairly.

After saying all of that, I did have a question though. I was totally unaware of the monorail fire in the 80's. What happened then?

[Rob562]

The operating guidelines need to be revised. The computer system should be updated to be able to handle switching without having to disable MAPO. I don't think, however, that a CM needs to be in the rear of each monorail, or that cab rides should end. Cab rides are one of my favorite times at WDW, and I will continue to do this should Disney allow it.

I can see them implementing a new procedure so that apart from minor re-positionings within a station (like when a train over-shoots the station's stop point), they require a pilot to be on the same end of the monorail as the direction of motion. i.e. no more driving in reverse for any real distance. Thus, repositioning from one beam to another might require a driver at each end.

So when the train stops at the hold point past the Epcot line switch, they would reboot the train and the driver at the other end would drive the train around the spur and onto the Express beam. Yes, rebooting will take longer, but it'll be a safer operation than driving in reverse.

(A question for BW or other pilots: how long does a train reboot take when switching cockpits?)

A CM posting on WDWMagic said that Pink had been given clearance to operate in reverse all the way from the hold point, through the Spur, and continue backwards all the way to the MK station. (All other trains were already removed from Express) Had the switches been positioned properly, that wouldn't have been a problem, but in this instance, apparently not realizing they hadn't moved onto the spur beam, they backed up around the Epcot beam and blew through the station.

-Rob

[glendalais]

The Walt Disney World Resort Monorail System will be reopening today.

Suffice it to say that the necessary safety checks have been completed. Beyond that, I'll leave it to the Company to announce further details when they see fit.

Both internal and external investigations are continuing. As always, the safety of both Guests and Cast Members alike remains the first priority of the Walt Disney World Resort.

[Syndrome]

I was so annoyed at Fox News last night. They had a clip of one of Austin's friends saying how Disney just put him into a pilot position without proper training or completing his training. I have a feeling it was taken out of context, but the way they made it sound, it was like he was given som preliminary training and tossed into the monorails (i.e. he didn't know what he was doing, which led to the accident). I hate it when they make implications like that, especially since that seems to be far from the truth.

[BelieveInMagic]

Another long-time lurker here who, like all other lurkers and active members alike, came directly here yesterday upon hearing the news to ensure that all members of this message board are alright.

My thoughts are with Austin's friends, family and those of you who knew him from work. It's hard to see anyone die in a tragedy such as this, it's even harder to see someone so young with still a lot of potential left in their life to die in a tragedy such as this.

My thoughts are also with the one person not getting a lot of mention in this; the driver of the pink monorail. Regardless of how this accident occurred, I'm sure that guy is struggling emotionally knowing that he was piloting the train that killed another person. My thoughts and prayers with him also as he struggles through this.

[Bright Scouter]

I have to agree with that sentiment.

I pray for Austin's family.

I also pray for the pink driver.

And also for whomever was working in Monorail control at the time. Everyone on duty then and even somewhat involved must be feeling guilty about this.

[Rex]

Throughout all of this, I'm wondering what the changes in policies that will be made - after all, I am pretty confident in saying that monorails are the safest mode of transportation, and like previously posted, the cast members who have both been working the platforms, and also piloting the monorails, have kept a safety record that I doubt can be broken by any industry, or mode of transportation.


There have been already several youtube videos, pictures, and commentaries that even I find offensive, in that they place blame on so many people, when in reality, nobody really knows what truly happened yet, and to place blame on someone who died in the line of their work, is unfair, and despicable. To then further compound that Austin may or may not have been properly trained, when it may not have had anything to even do with this, it irritates me that people are so quick to jump to the blame game.

I can only hope and pray for Austin, his family, and friends, as well as those who have been effected by his untimely demise, and I hope that people will stop judging him and those who operate and maintain the monorails. They have all done a great job.

[Sioban]

I'm truly feeling for all the monorail CMs that have to put on a brave face today. It's never easy to lose one of your own, and especially not when you really have to turn around and "get on with it" and basically have to go back to business as usual.

I can't imagine how the pink driver is coping/going to cope. The story just gets sadder.

As CMs we don't all work at the same parks, or even the same cities, but we are all affected when something like this happens.