What to Know
- Data recorders from the cab of the NJ Transit train that crashed into Hoboken Terminal last week have been recovered, the NTSB said.
- The recorders -- known colloquially as "black boxes" -- should be able to tell investigators important information about the train
- The train's engineer has told investigators he doesn't have any recollection of the crash
Data recorders from the cab of the New Jersey Transit train that crashed into Hoboken Terminal last week has been recovered, the National Transportation Safety Board announced.
Investigator Jim Southworth said that crews were able to safely get a pair of event recorders and the engineer's belongings from the train's front car on Tuesday morning, five days after the train slammed through walls at the century-old train station. One person died in the crash, and more than 100 others were hurt.
Southworth said that the data recorders as well as the engineer's cellphone were shipped to Washington, D.C., for evaluation.
He said investigators should be able to tell investigators how fast the train was going at the time of the crash, along with any video recordings from the time of the crash. They'll also look to see whether the engineer's cellphone was being used at the time of the crash.
It comes after a U.S. official told The Associated Press that investigators estimated that the train was traveling two to three times the 10 mph speed limit when it slammed into the station. The official was not authorized to speak about an ongoing investigation and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.
The speed estimate is based on the extent of damage, not on data from the train's instruments.
At a briefing Tuesday, NTSB investigator James Southworth declined to address the train's speed. "We're not prepared to make that statement right now," he said.
#Hoboken #traincrash train hit the station pic.twitter.com/5xteTKLavU
— Leon O (@monduras) September 29, 2016
Officials had previously said it would take days to pull the event recorders from the wreckage. A first data recorder, from the rear of the train, was pulled from the train on the day of the crash. But it wasn't functioning the day of the crash.
Southworth said it would be at least a day before investigators are able to move the crashed train. He said New Jersey Transit service into and out of Hoboken wouldn't resume before then.
The engineer, Thomas Gallagher, told investigators that he had no memory of the crash but said he was operating at 10 mph as he approached the station, said T. Bella Dinh-Zarr, the vice chair of the National Transportation Safety Board.
Gallagher, 48, said he only remembered waking up on the floor of the engineer's cab, Dinh-Zarr said Sunday.
Federal regulations require commuter trains to have working recorders. The regulations require they be inspected every 92 days. It was unclear when the nonworking recorder, which officials said was installed in 1995, had been last inspected. The recorder recovered Tuesday was made in 2003.
The commuter rail service has not responded to requests for comment.
