New mystery in Amtrak train crash: Was it hit by a flying object?

The Amtrak train that derailed along one of the U.S’ busiest tracks may have been struck by an object in the moments before it crashed, investigators said Friday, raising new questions about the deadly accident. National Transportation Safety Board member Robert Sumwalt said an assistant conductor aboard the train told investigators that she heard the Amtrak engineer talking over the radio with an engineer for a regional railroad just before the crash. The regional engineer, who was in the same area as the Amtrak train, said his train had been hit by a rock or some other projectile. The conductor heard Brandon Bostian, who was at the Amtrak controls, say the same had happened to his train, according to Sumwalt.

When you heard the name Brandon Bostian, the first thing you would think is trains. His walls were covered with pictures; he had several model sets. Sometimes we’d just go down to the tracks that ran through town and watch trains and shoot the breeze.

Lee Allen, one of Bostian’s close friends from adolescence, told the New York Times

The windshield of the Amtrak train was shattered in the accident but one area of glass had a breakage pattern that could be consistent with being hit by an object and the FBI is investigating, he said. The derailment has made it clear that despite the train industry’s widespread use of electronic signals, sensors and warning systems, safety still sometimes comes down to the knowledge and experience of the engineer. Those skills would have been critical on the curve where the New York-bound train derailed, killing eight and injuring more than 200 in the deadliest U.S. train accident in nearly six years.

I don’t think there’s any foul play or anything like that. He was never one to do drugs. There’s got to be something else going on that nobody knows about yet.

James Weir, a friend of Bostian

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