NTSB says evidence does not point to phone use in Amtrak 188 accident

Written by Mischa Wanek-Libman, editor
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NTSB IIC Mike Flanigon and members of the investigative team on the scene of the Amtrak Train #188 Derailment in Philadelphia.
NTSB

The National Transportation Safety Board says analysis of phone records of the locomotive engineer operating Amtrak 188, Brandon Bostian, did not indicate the phone was in use at the time of the accident, which occurred on May 12.

 

The NTSB is conducting a detailed examination of the engineer’s cell phone calls, texts, data and cell phone tower transmission activity records from the phone carrier and records from Amtrak’s on-board Wi-Fi system.

According to the NTSB, “Analysis of the phone records does not indicate that any calls, texts or data usage occurred during the time the engineer was operating the train. Amtrak’s records confirm that the engineer did not access the train’s Wi-Fi system while he was operating the locomotive.”

NTSB is still investigating whether the phone was in “airplane mode” or was powered off. NTSB says its laboratory in Washington, D.C., has been examining the phone’s operating system, which contains more than 400,000 files of meta-data. Investigators are obtaining a phone identical to the engineer’s phone as an exemplar model and will be running tests to validate the data.

Amtrak 188 derailed on May 12 after entering a curve with a speed limit of 50 mph at more than 100 mph. The accident left more than 200 people injured, including Bostian, and eight dead.

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