Theories Swirl Around Fatal Disney Monorail Crash
Crash Left 1 Cast Member Dead
POSTED: Monday, July 6, 2009
UPDATED: 7:05 pm EDT July 6,
2009
  Austin Wuennenberg, 21. |
ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Operational Safety and Health Administration is investigating what went wrong after a Disney monorail crash left a cast member dead.
VIDEO: Crash Theory
After speaking with experts, witnesses and Disney sources, Local 6 reporter Donald Forbes said there is a theory about what might have happened Sunday morning when a train collision killed monorail pilot Austin Wuennenberg, 21.There are two rail lines, or beams, that run along the vast monorail system at Walt Disney World. One completes a loop around the Magic Kingdom, through the Contemporary, Grand Floridian and Polynesian hotels. The other beam runs to and from Epcot and the Transportation and Ticketing Center, which is where the accident happened.One theory is that the pink train monorail made its final drop at the transportation center, and the operator was told to pull forward around the loop and get ready to transfer tracks onto the Magic Kingdom beam, which would have required it to go into reverse.Meanwhile, the purple train, which had six people onboard, including Wuennenberg, was nearby at the transportation center on the Epcot beam. For some reason, the pink train did not switch tracks, so when it began to travel backward, it remained on the Epcot beam instead of moving onto the Magic Kingdom Beam.The collision would not have happened if the collision avoidance system had been on, but it had been manually turned off, which former monorail pilots said was common practice when putting the trains away at night.Sensors throughout the monorail system shut down the trains if they are within two train-lengths of each other, but the operator of the pink train had shut off the system, called MA-PO.A former monorail pilot said the trains have intense spotlights located at the front and rear, and an oncoming train should have been easily spotted.
Previous Stories:
- July 6, 2009: Disney Reopens Monorail After Death
- July 6, 2009: Deadly Disney Crash Investigated
Copyright 2009 by Internet Broadcasting Systems and Local6.com.
All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten
or redistributed.
-
Austin Wuennenberg, 21. -
Fatal Disney Monorail Crash 911 Call
10:40 A.M. july 6, 200910:41 A.M. july 6, 2009
The views expressed are not those of clickorlando.com, WKMG or its affiliated companies. This is a community moderated forum. (Please note the 'Like' and 'Report' tabs.) By posting your comments you agree to accept our Terms of Use.
blog comments powered by Disqus
A man is charged with assisting with an attempted suicide after telling his wife to kill herself during an argument and loading the gun for her, deputies say.
Maclaren recalls about 1 million strollers after reports that 12 children had parts of their fingers amputated by a hinge.
A 27-year-old man remains under observation in a special cell today after being charged in the death of his ex-girlfriend’s 3-year-old daughter last week.
Tropical storm warnings are in effect across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, where governors have declared states of emergency.
Three men have been arrested by Daytona Beach police after a 16-year-old died from stab wounds.
Local 6 News, led by investigative reporter Mike Holfeld, will host an interactive experience on Monday, including a phone bank and online chat with homeowners association experts. Call 888-436-6665 for the phone bank.
A fight breaks out among players at a high school game in Providence, R.I., that soon spread to fans in the stands.
Police in Charleston, W.V., say a 9-year-old boy stopped a carjacking with some quick thinking.
A Minnesota woman gives birth on-line for her family, friends and the whole world to see.
Ida is no longer a hurricane as it loses strength over the water on its way to a landfall on the U.S. Gulf Coast sometime tomorrow. 
The 13 people killed when an Army psychiatrist allegedly opened fire on fellow soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas, included a pregnant woman who was preparing to return home, a man who quit a furniture company job to join the military about a year ago, a newlywed who had served in Iraq and a woman who had vowed to take on Osama bin Laden after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Here is a look at some of the victims.
Spawning well-known characters from Big Bird to Elmo, "Sesame Street" has been entertaining and educating children for 40 years now.
Check out these lookers who ran into the law.
Top-dollar designs don't always provide a good return for the rich and famous. Check out which celebs were caught in fashion flops.
Email Alerts
RSS News Feeds
Mobile
Live Streams
Slideshows
Video
Search
