NTSB says trains not speeding before Okla. wreck

Preliminary Report

Eastbound Union Pacific Railroad (UP) Freight Train ZLAAH-22 and Westbound UP Freight Train AAMMLX-22 Collided Head-on

June 24, 2012
Goodwell, Oklahoma

Accident No.: DCA12MR005

Preliminary Report

The information in this report is preliminary and will be supplemented or corrected during the course of the investigation.

On Sunday, June 24, 2012, about 10:01 a.m. Central Daylight Time, eastbound Union Pacific Railroad (UP) freight train ZLAAH-22 and westbound UP freight train AAMMLX-22 collided head-on while operating on straight track on UP's Pratt Subdivision near Goodwell, Oklahoma. As a result of the collision, both crewmembers on the eastbound train and one crewmember on the westbound train were fatally injured. The other crewmember on the westbound train jumped from the locomotive prior to the collision and survived, with no major injuries. Fuel tanks from the derailed locomotives were ruptured, which created a diesel-fed fire. Damage was estimated at $14.79 million. Environmental conditions were daylight, clear skies, and a temperature of 89 degrees Fahrenheit with visibility of 10 miles.

The eastbound train consisted of four locomotives (three in the lead and one in the rear of the train) and 108 cars of mixed freight (108 loads and no empties). The total train length was about 7,915 feet with a weight of about 6,328 trailing tons. The lead three locomotives and first 24 cars derailed. The 24 derailed cars were articulated intermodal cars with double stacked containers.

The westbound train consisted of three locomotives (two in the lead and one in the rear of the train) and 80 carloads of automobiles, with no empty cars. The total train length was about 7,743 feet with weight of about 5,760 trailing tons. The two lead locomotives and first six cars derailed.

Train movements on UP's Pratt Subdivision are governed by signal indications of a traffic control system. The maximum authorized speed for freight trains in the area of the accident is 70 mph. Event recorders from the lead locomotives of both trains were severely damaged during the collision and the data could not be retrieved. Event recorder data from the rear locomotives of both trains, as well as recorded data from the signal system, is being examined to determine train speeds and signal aspects prior to the collision. Initial data review from the rear locomotives indicates that the eastbound train was traveling about 64 mph and the westbound train was traveling about 38 mph at the time of the collision.

Parties to the investigation are the Federal Railroad Administration, Union Pacific Railroad, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, United Transportation Union, and the Guymon Fire Department.

Related Photos

Smoke rises from two cargo trains that collided Sunday two miles east of Goodwell. (AP File Photo)

Discussion

July 9, 2012

NTSB says trains not speeding before Okla. wreck

Anonymous Associated Press Mon Jul 09, 2012, 10:59 AM CDT

TULSA — The National Transportation Safety Board says trains that collided head-on last month in the Oklahoma Panhandle weren’t speeding at the time of the wreck.

Three Union Pacific employees died in the June 24 accident near Goodwell. Another worker jumped to safety.

A preliminary NTSB report issued Monday said an eastbound train was traveling at 64 mph at the time of the crash and that a westbound train was traveling at 38 mph. The speed limit in the area is 70 mph.

Data couldn’t be recovered from the lead locomotives, but the NTSB says it retrieved recorders from engines helping to push the trains. The agency said it is checking the data to see whether train operators were receiving signals properly.

Damage was estimated at nearly $15 million.

Text Only

State, national, world

Okla. senator opposes federal fracking rules
The Obama Administration is arguing for the rules because the Bureau of Land Management's current regulations for fracking are more than 30 years old.

May 17, 2013 1 Photo
Oklahoma Senate unveils $80 million plan for 2 new museums
A new plan diverts $80 million in state sales and use taxes over a four-year period to pay for the completion of an American Indian museum in Oklahoma City and build a new popular culture museum in Tulsa.

May 16, 2013 1 Photo 2 Stories
Candice Glover wins 12th season of 'American Idol'
Glover looked stunned when "Idol" host Ryan Seacrest announced she bested soulful 22-year-old country singer Kree Harrison from Woodville, Texas.

May 16, 2013 2 Photos
Mom chases down child abductor, rams his car; man arrested
The family called 911 and the mother jumped into her vehicle and gave chase for about seven miles, unaware the man had pushed the girl out of the silver Buick before fleeing the apartment complex, authorities said. The girl was found wandering nearby, uninjured, police said.

May 16, 2013 2 Photos
Texas tornado devastation includes Habitat homes
The weather service said the preliminary storm estimate for the Granbury tornado was an EF-4, based on the Fujita tornado damage scale. An EF-5 is the most severe.

May 16, 2013 3 Photos 1 Story
Brothers arrested in Mother's Day parade shooting
The arrests by city police and U.S. marshals came less than four days after gunfire scattered the crowd and wounded 20 people — 19 hit by bullets and one while trying to flee.

May 16, 2013 2 Photos 1 Story
At least 6 dead in Texas tornado outbreak
"We were all, like, hugging in the bathtub and that's when it started happening. I heard glass shattering and I knew my house was going. We looked up and ... the whole ceiling was gone." -- Elizabeth Tovar

Click the Headline Story Link to see VIDEO of tornado

May 16, 2013 4 Photos
Black Friday illegal in Oklahoma? Say it isn't so ...
A recent attorney general's opinion confirmed that Black Friday and other low-price sales events are illegal, even if they are temporary. Find out what the Legislature is doing to fix it.

May 15, 2013 1 Photo 3 Stories
1 trial for man in deaths of Oklahoma girls, woman
Kevin Sweat, 27, will be tried in January for the death of his girlfriend, Ashley Taylor, as well as the shooting deaths three years earlier of 13-year-old Taylor Placker and 11-year-old Skyla Whitaker.

May 15, 2013 2 Photos 2 Stories
Wisconsin wildfire consumes 8,700 acres
No injuries have been reported in the largest forest fire to hit northern Wisconsin in 33 years, according to the DNR.

May 15, 2013 1 Photo
More State, national, world Headlines

State, national, world

Search Results

Preliminary Report

Preliminary Report

Related Photos

Discussion

NTSB says trains not speeding before Okla. wreck

Site Map

Contact Us