NTSB: Disney Making Monorail Safer
Chairwoman Says Park Is Working Closely With Investigators
POSTED: Tuesday, September 15, 2009
UPDATED: 6:20 pm EDT September 15,
2009
ORLANDO, Fla. -- The National Transportation and Safety Board is discussing for the first time the changes Disney plans to make in the wake of the deadly monorail crash in July.
The head of the agency spoke exclusively with Local 6 about how Disney is working to ensure the safety of monorail employees and passengers.
Monorail pilot Austin Wuennenberg was killed July 5 when two monorail trains collided.
NTSB chairwoman Debbie Hersman said the decision for the agency to investigate the crash was uncharacteristic.
"It's unusual for us to investigate crashes that don't involve something that is seen all around the country. The monorail is fairly unique, so we thought it was an important accident event for us to investigate," Hersman said.
Hersman took over the NTSB last week. She said that Disney seems to be going above and beyond to help investigators do their job and the company is doing its best to make sure the accident never happens again.
"We know they are going to be putting some changes into place as we speak. I know they are working on some operational changes," Hersman said.
Hersman said she hopes the changes help keep everyone safer.
"How the trains are controlled, where the operator is positioned when they are moving the trains, where supervisors and others who might be doing changes from one track to another would be when they occur," Hersman said.
Hersman said when the NTSB is done with its investigation, the organization will see how Disney's safety changes are working and if they go far enough.
"We will be looking very closely at the actions of the company here and we'll determine if there are any additional recommendations that we need to make," Hersman said.
The NTSB said all changes made by Disney are voluntary.
Copyright 2009 by Internet Broadcasting Systems and
Local6.com.
All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten
or redistributed.