Home News 

Story

NTSB Wraps Up Onsite Monorail Investigation

Posted: 5:09 pm EDT July 10, 2009Updated: 6:14 pm EDT July 10, 2009

The National Transportation Safety Board finished its investigation Friday into last weekend's deadly monorail crash at Walt Disney World. The investigator is headed to California to put it all together.


VIDEO REPORT: Federal Monorail Investigation Moves To Cali
PILOT'S STATEMENT: Friend Reads It, Answers Questions
NTSB REPORT: Read "Factual Information" Report
SLIDESHOW: Images Show Crash Scene, Victim

It has been an intense week of questioning and drug testing for employees that has wrapped up. Now it's time for the NTSB to study what it uncovered and determine exactly what led to the deadly crash.

The Sunday morning crash killed 21-year-old monorail driver Austin Wuennenberg. The NTSB found the train that hit Wuennenberg's should have been switched to another track, but for some reason it was not. The driver of the other train was 62-year-old Alan Rubino.

"Alan wishes to extend to Austin's family and friends his deepest condolences," Dennis Pickering, fellow pilot and friend of Rubino said Thursday night.

Pickering is defending the pilot.

"Alan was merely following the radio instructions he received just like we receive every night," he said.

Rubino is on paid leave, along with a transportation manager and monorail shop worker. A former pilot with friends still at Disney told Eyewitness News off camera the manager was across the street from Disney at Denny's when the trains collided.

Pickering said it's been a hard week for everyone in the monorail department, especially those involved in the crash.

"Under the conditions, Alan is suffering from emotional trauma right now," he said.

The investigation could take several weeks or it could even take a year or more. The NTSB says it wants to make sure it is a thorough investigation.

More Headlines

Make WFTV Your Power On

Did you ever turn your television off at night and notice the next morning that your set comes on to a different channel? You can set your cable box so that your TV comes on to the station you want. It's easy! Full Story ››
Step-By-Step Text Instructions


Click Picks
Video Clips
AP Photo/Peter Kramer
Heidi Klum and her post-baby body led the parade at the annual Victoria's Secret fashion show, which returned to New York with some fresh faces after four years on the road. View Images ››


Strange News Photos

From brilliant to bizarre, our 99-photo slideshow captures a variety of strange news. Photos are added often. Take A Look!

County-By-County News

Get Hyper-Local On WFTV.com

Visit our County-By-County section for the latest news headlines out of your county. » County-By-County

When you take videos or photos of Central Florida news or weather events, iWitness is your place to upload them. » iWitness

Visit your headquarters for county-by-county news and resources, and a place to share community videos and photos. » 9Central