Probable cause of CTA Yellow Line crash revealed by NTSB
Probable causes of CTA Yellow Line crash revealed by NTSB
The National Transportation Safety Board released findings from its investigation into the CTA Yellow Line crash that left 19 wounded in 2023.
CHICAGO - The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released findings from its investigation into the CTA Yellow Line crash that left 19 wounded in 2023.
The backstory:
On the morning of Nov. 16, 2023, a Yellow Line train collided with snow removal equipment near the Howard station in Rogers Park.
The train was carrying 31 people at the time of the crash, 16 of whom were hospitalized, including the operator. The CTA estimated damages to be roughly $8.7 million.
The NTSB said three factors contributed to the crash:
- An aggressive speed reduction command that resulted in wheel slide and degraded the train’s braking performance,
- CTA’s decision to disable the automatic track brake application feature of the train’s wheel slide protection system, delaying application of the track brake and further reducing the train’s braking performance, and
- The presence of organic material on the rails that caused slippery conditions that worsened the wheel slide and further degraded the train’s braking performance.
The video below is from a previous report on the crash.
Nearly one year later, questions remain about CTA Yellow Line crash that injured dozens
Saturday marks one year since the crash on the Chicago Transit Authority's Yellow Line that injured dozens. While some details have emerged, investigators are still working to determine what led to the incident.
Dig deeper:
Last October, the NTSB reported the train operator had alcohol in his system at the time of the crash.
The NTSB noted that "the hospital ethanol test is an unconfirmed clinical test, and the results report contained a disclaimer that the results are not intended for legal purposes."
The FAA Forensic Sciences Laboratory conducted toxicological tests on the operator's blood, detecting ethanol levels of 0.043 g/dL in a specimen collected at 11:20 a.m. and 0.048 g/dL in a second specimen collected at 11:36 a.m.
Federal Transit Administration (FTA) regulations prohibit employees in safety-sensitive positions from working with a blood alcohol level of 0.04 g/dL or higher. Employees with levels between 0.02 and 0.04 g/dL must be removed from duty for at least eight hours or until their alcohol level drops below 0.02 g/dL.
The train operator passed medical exams in both 2021 and 2023, receiving two-year commercial motor vehicle (CMV) certifications each time. He was part of the CTA’s random drug and alcohol testing program but had not been selected for testing before the crash.
The Source: The information in this story came from NTSB and our previous reporting.