Cause of fatal AirTrain JFK derailment determined - Transit Update

Railway Age, June, 2003

An investigation has been completed by the Safety Board of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey into the fatal crash last Sept. 27 on the $1.9 billion AirTrain JFK rail circulator system at Kennedy International Airport.

The board, comprised of senior Port Authority officials, concluded the accident "was unrelated to the design and construction of the automated rail system," and allowed testing to resume on April 23. The probe also determined that operator Kelvin DeBourgh was not properly trained and there was a communication breakdown.

Those two factors contributed to the accident, which occurred on a curve at 55 mph despite a 25 mph speed limit. The train derailed and collided with a concrete wall, resulting in DeBourgh's death. AirTrain JFK will be driverless once in revenue service, but test trains often have an operator at the controls. At the time of the accident, the test unit's governor and a computerized tracking system showing the train's location on the three-mile elevated guideway lost communications. DeBourgh, an employee of lead contractor Bombardier, apparently overshot the point where he was to stop and, without braking, sped into the curve. Since controllers did not know the train's location, DeBourgh was not warned to slow down. During the crash, heavy concrete ballast used to simulate a full load inside the lead car shifted, crushing DeBourgh.

A Bombardier spokesman said the company "accepts the report" and has worked directly with the Port Authority to implement recommended changes in training and communications during test procedures. Further, the Port Authority Safety Board has established an AirTrain Safety Oversight Board "to monitor conformance with established safety procedures and current industry standards for the operation and maintenance of AirTrain JFK and AirTrain Newark." The latter system is a monorail serving Newark Liberty International Airport.

Passenger service on AirTrain JFK is scheduled to begin later this year between the central terminal area, Howard Beach, and the Jamaica Long Island Rail Road station. The results of an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board have yet to be released, but apparently the federal agency has reached the same conclusions as the Port Authority.