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posted by martyb on Tuesday October 04 2016, @12:37AM   Printer-friendly
from the GIGO?-DINO!-Data-In-Nothing-Out dept.

The National Transportation Safety Board has said that a data recorder recovered from the crash of a New Jersey Transit train in Hoboken recorded no information about the incident:

A data recorder that could have helped investigators answer why a New Jersey Transit train crashed in Hoboken last week was not working, the National Transportation Safety Board said Sunday. "Unfortunately, the event recorder was not functioning during this trip," NTSB Vice Chairman Bella Dinh-Zarr said. Investigators said the data recorder was over 20 years old.

The NTSB is looking for a second data recorder from a newer passenger car. The recorder could provide information on the train's speed, use of brakes and throttle position. The train's engineer, identified as Thomas Gallagher, told NTSB investigators the train entered the Hoboken station at 10 mph. Witnesses have said the train was speeding as it entered the station instead of slowing down.

New Jersey Transit had already been under scrutiny for safety issues before the crash. A roof (possibly containing asbestos) which had collapsed on top of the train during the accident is now preventing investigators from inspecting the scene.

Also at Reuters and The Guardian .


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  • (Score: 2) by Snotnose on Tuesday October 04 2016, @02:09AM

    by Snotnose (1623) on Tuesday October 04 2016, @02:09AM (#409775)

    I'm not joking. They have a history of safety issues. When Bad Things Happen(tm) the black box is supposed to give enough data to point the fickle finger of responsibility to the correct party.

    If your maintenance is so bad the bloody black box doesn't work, the NTSB needs to reach into the Cxx suite and pluck an asshole or two out of it and drop them into prison for a few years. Possibly even a VP or three.

    Who the hell ever heard of a black box not working? How bad is your maintenance that half your required black boxes fail? These things are engineered to survive disasters. Not replacing a couple of AA batteries every 6 months, or whatever maintenance they need, is dereliction of duty.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 04 2016, @02:22AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 04 2016, @02:22AM (#409783)

    In the most cynical of scenarios the black box didn't work on purpose. "Ehhh, blame it on poor maintenance." That said, it is quite likely that good old corporate greed played a role.

  • (Score: 4, Funny) by takyon on Tuesday October 04 2016, @02:57AM

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Tuesday October 04 2016, @02:57AM (#409788) Journal

    How bad is your maintenance that half your required black boxes fail?

    Hey, give them some credit. They haven't found the other black box yet.

    They still have a chance to reach 100% failure.

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    • (Score: 2) by Snotnose on Tuesday October 04 2016, @03:35AM

      by Snotnose (1623) on Tuesday October 04 2016, @03:35AM (#409798)

      I was not aware of that. I thought the first one worked, the one they had to work at retrieving didn't.

      The first one didn't work? Jeebus.

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