The National Transportation Security Board (NTSB) on Feb. 2 issued an initial report on the Norfolk Southern freight train carrying toxic chemicals that derailed this month in East Palestine, Ohio, sparking a fire and sending contaminants into the air and water.
The report, which is preliminary and subject to change as investigators deepen their probe, suggests that a wheel bearing was nearing overheat failure before the train went off the rails.
The crew operating the freight train didn’t receive a critical warning about the overheated axle until moments before the derailment, the report states.
After getting a “critical audible alarm message” from the wayside defect detector—or hot bearing detector (HBD)—instructing the crew to stop the train to inspect a hot axle, the engineer slowed and stopped the train….