WASHINGTON — A segment of steel angle iron protruding from a gondola car on a stopped train killed a conductor trainee and seriously injured a conductor on an oncoming Norfolk Southern train, according to the National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report on the Dec. 13, 2022, accident in Bessemer, Ala.
The preliminary report, issued Tuesday, Jan. 17, indicates the ongoing investigation will focus on NS freight car inspection practices and on NS and U.S. Pipe operating procedures for unloading cars and returning freight cars to NS. Preliminary reports do not reach conclusions as to probable cause of accidents and contain information that is subject to change.
Walter James Griffin III, 43, of Hueytown, Ala., was killed in the accident [see “Norfolk Southern trainee killed …,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 13, 2022]. Federal Railroad Administration had previously issued a safety bulletin urging railroaders to conduct pre-departure inspections to ensure no objects are protruding from freight cars [see “FRA issues safety bulletin …,” News Wire, Jan. 6, 2022].
The preliminary report says that the angle iron — in this case, a piece of metal more than 16 feet long with 5-inch sides — had been welded to the top right edge of gondola car SSEX 100843, which was in the consist of stopped train 340-12. The metal piece had broken loose and was fouling the adjacent main track when train A55-12 approached at approximately 55 mph. The angle iron pierced the window on the left front door of A55’s lead locomotive and struck both conductors.
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