NTSB to examine monorail accident

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - In an unprecedented move by the agency charged with investigations into civil transportation accidents, the National Transportation Safety Board said on Monday, that it will examine a fatal monorail collision which occurred at Walt Disney World on Sunday morning.

The pilot of one of the monorail trains, Austin Wuennenberg, 21, died of multiple traumatic injuries in what's being considered an accident, said Sheri Blanton, a spokeswoman for Orange County Medical Examiner's Office.

In a 911 call, a witness described the crash which killed Wuennenberg as "a head-on collision" between two trains.  The accident occurred as the park resort was closing and one train was being transferred off the rail line.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration had already launched an investigation into whether workplace safety rules were broken. Disney has essentially been responsible for its own oversight of ride and transportation safety, but after reviewing a preliminary report by Disney officials, the NTSB decided to launch a full investigation of its own. The separate investigations could take as long as six months.

The pilot of the second monorail was taken to the hospital, but did not appear to have any injuries.   Kelly Shorb, 33, her husband and their four kids were the only passengers onboard the Disney monorail piloted by Wuennenberg.  She said they were shaken, but uninjured.

"Things started falling down. My kids were screaming, and we all got bumped out of our seats,” she said. “We were just terrified, because we didn't know what had happened."

Shorb said she heard crews try to separate the two trains, which were fused together from the impact of the crash.

"My husband and I started banging on the windows, to make sure people knew there was someone in there, since we weren't even at the station yet. We thought, we would fall over, we felt swaying back and forth. It was real chaotic for what felt like a long time,” Shorb added. "You could hear screeching and more pieces were falling off."

Eventually, the trains were moved nearer to the platform, where Shorb said crews got the family out of the train through the windows.

Disney's monorail system is controlled by a central dispatch. A former Disney monorail pilot said there is a safety system that is supposed to prevent two trains from ever getting that close to one another.

We've asked both Disney and the Orange County Sheriff's Office if there was a computer glitch, or operator error, but neither would answer due to the ongoing investigation.

"The actual story is, our driver was waiting to get clearance to come in, and the other train malfunctioned, or the other pilot didn't put the train back in forward motion and went in reverse into our car,” said Shorb, describing what investigators told her once she was safely removed from the wreckage.

No one investigating the accident confirmed what Shorb claims. Disney said OSHA gave them clearance to run the monorail system on Monday. 

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On Sunday, Disney World V.P. of Public Affairs, Mike Griffin issued a statement:

"Today, we mourn the loss of our fellow Cast Member. Our hearts go out to his family and to those who have lost a friend and co-worker. The safety of our guests and Cast Members is always our top priority. The monorail is out of service as we continue to work closely with law enforcement to determine what happened and the appropriate next steps."

Ethan Meus, who was visiting the theme park from Dubuque, Iowa, said he and his family took the monorail to dinner at a resort hotel Saturday night. Meus, 17, watched the Magic Kingdom fireworks from the monorail on the way back to his hotel, he said, and didn't notice any problems with the train.  "It's pretty shocking to hear that a driver was killed in that accident," Meus said.

The family was planning to take the train again Sunday to visit Disney's Epcot Center, but now planned to take a bus, Meus added. "You would think it would be so safe," said 20-year-old Lauren  Shoebottom, who was visiting the park from London. "You don't expect it on holiday, do you?"

"It's a bit shocking," said 22-year-old Danielle Williams, of London. "Disney seems so perfect."

According to Disney Fact Sheets, Disney has 12 monorail trains, each with six cars traveling the 14.7 miles of elevated rail throughout Disney property.

Nearly 7,000 guests per direction, per hour ride the monorail. On a typical day, more than 150,000 guests utilize monorail transportation.

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FOX 35's Tracy Jacim, Trinette Bowers and Stuart Campbell contributed to this report