NTSB looking into Amtrak engineer’s cell phone records
As part of its ongoing investigation into the devastating May 12, 2015, derailment of Amtrak Train 188 in Philadelphia, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is examining the engineer’s cell phone records, which were obtained via a subpoena by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).
“Although the records appear to indicate that calls were made, text messages sent, and data used on the day of the accident, investigators have not yet made a determination if there was any phone activity during the time the train was being operated,” according to a statement issued by the NTSB.
In order to make that assessment, investigators have started the process of correlating the time stamps in the engineer’s cell phone records with multiple data sources including the locomotive event recorder, the locomotive outward facing video, recorded radio communications, and surveillance video. That process is a lengthy one. Because of variations in time stamps for each data source, each one must be correlated to the same time zone so that a factual timeline of events can be developed that will allow investigators to understand if any phone activity has any relevance to the accident.