Category: National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)

Ohio Files Lawsuit Against Norfolk Southern Over Toxic Train Derailment

Citing his concern that Norfolk Southern Railway’s accident rate has increased 80 percent over the past 10 years, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced that his office has filed a 58-count civil lawsuit in federal court over the company’s Feb. 3 derailment in East Palestine. Norfolk Southern violated numerous state and federal laws, caused the…


Norfolk Southern CEO Repeatedly Apologizes For Ohio Toxic Train Crash, Defends Safety Record in Senate Hearing

Scrutinized by lawmakers during a Senate committee hearing about railroad safety on March 9, Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw apologized multiple times for his company’s Feb. 3 toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, while repeatedly defending the railroad’s safety record. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing to explore the crash that occurred…


National Transportation Safety Board Opens Special Investigation Into Norfolk Southern ‘Safety Culture’

Prompted by a string of “five significant accidents” involving Norfolk Southern Railway, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced on March 7 that it is opening a special investigation of the company’s “organization and safety culture.” “Given the number and significance of recent Norfolk Southern accidents, the NTSB also urges the company to take immediate…


Norfolk Southern Employee Killed When Train Collides With Dump Truck in Cleveland

A Norfolk Southern Railway employee was killed on March 7 when a freight train collided with a dump truck in Cleveland, Ohio. Louis Shuster, a Norfolk Southern conductor, “was fatally injured early Tuesday morning at the Cleveland-Cliffs Cleveland Works property in Cleveland, Ohio. At this time, officials are reporting that the conductor was struck by…


Norfolk Southern Announces Safety Plan Amid Train Derailment Aftermath

Plagued by repeated freight train derailments, including a toxic crash in eastern Ohio in early February and another accident in southwest Ohio outside of Springfield on March 4, Norfolk Southern Railway introduced a six-point plan on March 6 “to immediately enhance the safety of its operations.” The plan is based on the National Transportation Safety…


Overheated Wheel Bearing Caused ‘100 Percent Preventable’ Ohio Derailment: NTSB

An overheated wheel bearing is what caused the Feb. 3 derailment of a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio—an incident that was “100 percent preventable,” according to National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chair Jennifer Homendy. “Every event we investigate is preventable,” Homendy noted at a Feb. 23, press conference in Washington….


Ohio Train Derailment ‘100 Percent Preventable’: NTSB

An overheated wheel bearing is what caused the Feb. 3 derailment of a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio—an incident that was “100 percent preventable,” according to National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chair Jennifer Homendy. “Every event we investigate is preventable,” Homendy noted at a Feb. 23, press conference in Washington….


Scrutiny Over Buttigieg’s Response to Toxic Ohio Train Derailment Continues

Under scrutiny for what Republicans and Democrats are calling a slow response to the fiery Norfolk Southern Railway train derailment on Feb. 3 in eastern Ohio, Secretary of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg sent a letter on Feb. 19 to the railroad’s CEO demanding that the company “demonstrate unequivocal support for the people” of East Palestine as…


Norfolk Southern CEO Visits Site of Ohio Toxic Train Crash

Vowing that “our company will be working tirelessly every day to get East Palestine back on its feet as soon as possible,” Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw visited the eastern Ohio village where his company’s train derailed on Feb. 3, sending toxic chemicals into the air and onto the ground. “I am here to support…


US Taps NTSB to Head Future Probes of Any Fatal Space Accidents

WASHINGTON—With more private companies launching people into space, the U.S. government said Friday that the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will take the lead in investigating future commercial space accidents where a person is killed or seriously injured. The NTSB will be the lead investigative agency in those fatal or injury incidents regardless of whether…