According to a July 19, AP report “The operator of a light-rail train that crashed [in San Francisco], injuring dozens of passengers as well as the operator, came under scrutiny on Sunday as federal investigators tried to figure out why he turned off the automatic controls moments before the accident. Ted Turpin, an investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board, said that the operator switched the controls from automatic to manual in a tunnel near the West Portal Station and that he never engaged the emergency brake. Had the operator kept the autopilot on, Mr. Turpin said, the train would have slowed down before arriving at the station and most likely not have careened into a parked train while going 23 miles per hour.”
Hudson plane-helicopter crash- preventable fatal tragedies continue
August 14, 2009
According to the New York Times “Roughly 15 years ago, the federal agency that investigates air disasters(NTSA) made a plea for more data on the air-tour industry, to improve safety for helicopter, airplane, balloon and airship flights around the nation. Six years later, it asked again.” Preventable fatal