Abstract: On September 22, 1993, barges, being pushed by the towboat MAUVILLA in dense fog, struck and displaced the Big Bayou Canot railroad bridge near Mobile, Alabama. Shortly after, the Amtrak Sunset Limited struck the displaced bridge and derailed. Forty-two passengers and 5 train Crewmembers were killed, 103 passengers were injured. The towboat crew was uninjured. The major safety issues discussed in this report include towboat operator training and evaluation, bridge risk assessment, bridge identification, emergency response and evacuation procedures, and event recorder crashworthiness.
As a result of its investigation, the Safety Board issued safety recommendations to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the U.S Army Corps of Engineers, the US Coast Guard, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, The American Waterways Operators, Inc, the Warrior & Gulf Navigation Company, the Association of American Railroads, and.the American Short Line Railroad Association.
The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent Federal agency dedicated to promoting aviation, railroad, highway, marine, pipeline, and hazardous materials safety Established in 1967, the agency is mandated by Congress through the Independent Safety Board Act of 1974 to investigate transportation accidents, determine the probable causes of the accidents, issue safety recommendations study transportation safety issues, and evaluate the safety effectiveness of government agencies involved in transportation The Safety Board makes public its actions and decisions through accident reports, safety studies, special investigation reports, safety recommendations, and statistical reviews.
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