NTSB Investigator: ‘Nothing at All’ Heard From Amtrak Train Engineer Communications to Suggest Train Hit by Projectile
— -- There was no communication between the derailed Amtrak train engineer to the dispatch center to suggest that a projectile had hit the ill-fated train, National Transportation Safety Board lead investigator Robert Sumwalt said.
“We interviewed the dispatchers and we listened to the dispatch tape, and we heard no communications at all from the Amtrak engineer to the dispatch center to say that something had struck his train,” Sumwalt said during an interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos on “This Week.”
“Nothing at all,” Sumwalt said.
Sumwalt said that the idea that an object hit the train is something that the NTSB is continuing to assess.
On Tuesday night, an Amtrak train derailed outside of Philadelphia, resulting in the death of eight people and hundreds of injuries. The train, which accelerated before the crash, was traveling over 100 mph at the time, well over the speed limit.
The engineer of the ill-fated train, Brandon Bastion, 32, told investigators earlier this week he did not remember details of the train derailment.
Following the crash, the Federal Railroad Administration ordered Amtrak to take steps to improve safety on the Northeast corridor.
