# The Amtrak train that derailed may have been struck by an object. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 16, 2015, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amtrak-train-that-derailed-may-have-been-struck-by-an-object/720154 "2015-05-16T02:18:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e8c25b/32.png) [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/excavating_for_a_mind)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amtrak-train-that-derailed-may-have-been-struck-by-an-object/720154/21 "2015-05-19T15:22:24Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > In the movies, whenever anything affects the driver he collapses and slumps forward, jamming the accelerator to full throttle. That’d do it. > [@Randolph](#): > > Maybe he was resting his forehead against the windshield when the rock hit the other side of it. You don’t know, man. Also, in the movies, whenever someone gets whacked in the head, he loses his memory. Are we sure this isn’t just a bad movie? ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amtrak-train-that-derailed-may-have-been-struck-by-an-object/720154/22 "2015-05-19T15:51:03Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > In the movies, whenever anything affects the driver he collapses and slumps forward, jamming the accelerator to full throttle. That’d do it. Despite a lifelong love of trains, I have no idea what the controls of an Amtrak commuter train look like. Is a scenario like this at all feasible? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amtrak-train-that-derailed-may-have-been-struck-by-an-object/720154/23 "2015-05-19T15:51:30Z")
The thing is, in real life getting whacked in the head actually can impair your memory. So… did the driver get hit in the head or not? Reports were that he required some stitches on his scalp and did suffer some sort of head injury. While I understand the skepticism involved in his side of the story “head injury with some memory loss” is NOT an outrageous claim under such circumstances. It is _common_ for there to be memory disruption in accidents involving a knock on the head. For investigative purposes, the interesting question is whether the knock on the head came _before_ the accident or as a _result_ of the accident. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amtrak-train-that-derailed-may-have-been-struck-by-an-object/720154/24 "2015-05-19T15:58:30Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > The Amtrak train that derailed may have been struck by an object. The Amtrak train that derailed may have been carrying drugs. The Amtrak train that derailed may have been attacked by a CHUD. The Amtrak train that derailed may have been surrounded by weasels. The Amtrak train that derailed may have been on fire. The Amtrak train that derailed may have been pining for the fjords. The Amtrak train that derailed may have been, like my hovercraft, full of eels. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amtrak-train-that-derailed-may-have-been-struck-by-an-object/720154/25 "2015-05-19T16:15:10Z")
This is completely unfounded Internet speculation with no evidence whatsoever (the best kind of speculation!🙂 ) but I would just point out that back in 1995 Right Wing Militia nuts derailed a train as an act of anti government Terrorism. They were never caught (in fact last Month the FBI upped the reward for their capture). We only know they did it because they took credit for it Could this have been done on purpose? In fairness that derailment was much more intricate and thought out but, like I said, unfounded speculation! ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amtrak-train-that-derailed-may-have-been-struck-by-an-object/720154/26 "2015-05-19T17:31:44Z")
> [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](#): > > Also, in the movies, whenever someone gets whacked in the head, he loses his memory. Are we sure this isn’t just a bad movie? Well, if was hit with a coconut, sure, that’s certain to cause amnesia. Hit with a rock no better than 50:50, could go either way. Somebody should hit him in the head with another coconut, if that cures it, we’ve proven the theory. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amtrak-train-that-derailed-may-have-been-struck-by-an-object/720154/27 "2015-05-19T17:39:50Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > Could this have been done on purpose? > > In fairness that derailment was much more intricate and thought out but, like I said, unfounded speculation! Thar does not explain exceeding the speed limit. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amtrak-train-that-derailed-may-have-been-struck-by-an-object/720154/28 "2015-05-19T18:06:37Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > This is completely unfounded Internet speculation with no evidence whatsoever (the best kind of speculation!🙂 ) but I would just point out that back in 1995 Right Wing Militia nuts derailed a train as an act of anti government Terrorism. They were never caught (in fact last Month the FBI upped the reward for their capture). We only know they did it because they took credit for it > > Could this have been done on purpose? > > In fairness that derailment was much more intricate and thought out but, like I said, unfounded speculation! Derailment is perfectly natural when you take a curve at over 100 mph. So, the right wing militia must have had a really big magnet to pull the train faster. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amtrak-train-that-derailed-may-have-been-struck-by-an-object/720154/29 "2015-05-19T18:22:27Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Depending on conditions, the “wild yawing” might have been perfectly normal maneuvers to compensate for conditions. I suspect one reason the airlines turn the screens off on take-off and landing is because the average person doesn’t really know what “normal” looks like. I’ve flown enough to have a pretty good idea. And it seems likely, just statistical common sense, that for every actual accident that occurs, there are many (maybe hundreds) of near-misses that no one ever hears about but the pilots know was a close call. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amtrak-train-that-derailed-may-have-been-struck-by-an-object/720154/30 "2015-05-19T18:25:41Z")
Any sabotage or attack theory must take into account that the crash was caused because the train sped up and went around a curve at unsafe speeds. Cutting the tracks could cause the train to derail, but it can’t cause the train to accelerate to unsafe speeds. Dropping rocks on the train might smash the windshield or derail a wheel, but can’t cause the train to accelerate to unsafe speeds. Same with planting a bomb. If this was an act of terrorism or some other sort of deliberate attack, it would have be be the sort of attack that causes the train to accelerate out of control. If the driver was Germanwings-style suicidal, that’s one explanation consistent with the facts. If the driver was disabled and someone mashed the accelerator until the train crashed, that’s another possible explanation. If there was a mechanical or software failure or sabotage that caused the engine to accelerate that’s another. If the driver was asleep or checking his email and not doing his job that’s another. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amtrak-train-that-derailed-may-have-been-struck-by-an-object/720154/31 "2015-05-19T19:50:40Z")
I wonder if an object struck the train and he sped to hurry out of the area. ---
**Author:** ![2gigch1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2gigch1/32/3313_2.png) [@2gigch1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2gigch1)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amtrak-train-that-derailed-may-have-been-struck-by-an-object/720154/32 "2015-05-19T19:57:29Z")
The only possible connection I can think between the two is if a large rock hits the windshield with enough force to smash the windshield like the damage we saw, how loud is that and could it stun a person for 20 seconds? To borrow a phrase from Mythbusters, without any more data, right now I kinda feel it’s plausible. But I sure want a lot more data to prove or disprove it. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amtrak-train-that-derailed-may-have-been-struck-by-an-object/720154/33 "2015-05-19T20:06:56Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I wonder if an object struck the train and he sped to hurry out of the area. > [@Jack Handey](#): > > It makes me mad when people say > I turned and ran like a scared rabbit. > Maybe it was like an angry rabbit, > who was running to go fight in another fight, > away from the first fight. Maybe that’s it. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amtrak-train-that-derailed-may-have-been-struck-by-an-object/720154/34 "2015-05-19T20:28:40Z")
> [@2gigch1](#): > > The only possible connection I can think between the two is if a large rock hits the windshield with enough force to smash the windshield like the damage we saw, how loud is that and could it stun a person for 20 seconds? > > To borrow a phrase from Mythbusters, without any more data, right now I kinda feel it’s plausible. > > But I sure want a lot more data to prove or disprove it. Something like this is becoming my working hypothesis. Maybe he was supposed to start slowing down, but he was so stunned/scared by the impact that he never did it, or only started braking when it was too late. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amtrak-train-that-derailed-may-have-been-struck-by-an-object/720154/35 "2015-05-19T21:46:20Z")
Seems to me that both train and plane cockpits should have a surveillance camera, with the footage stored in a blackbox. Would this be feasible? ---
**Author:** ![2gigch1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2gigch1/32/3313_2.png) [@2gigch1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2gigch1)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2015, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amtrak-train-that-derailed-may-have-been-struck-by-an-object/720154/36 "2015-05-20T01:11:54Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > Seems to me that both train and plane cockpits should have a surveillance camera, with the footage stored in a blackbox. Would this be feasible? [Absolutely. I run dash cam(s)](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUppTyzBwIEC6-ZYRhkEjWfndBD1udWTP) for less that $250 (high def) for work purposes. Even a FAA certified, government mandated camera would cost a few thousand tops. Honestly I think it should be the standard sooner rather than later. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2015, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amtrak-train-that-derailed-may-have-been-struck-by-an-object/720154/37 "2015-05-20T01:35:52Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > Seems to me that both train and plane cockpits should have a surveillance camera, with the footage stored in a blackbox. Would this be feasible? to what end? What good does it do the dead if you have a video of someone falling asleep? ---
**Author:** ![2gigch1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2gigch1/32/3313_2.png) [@2gigch1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2gigch1)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2015, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amtrak-train-that-derailed-may-have-been-struck-by-an-object/720154/38 "2015-05-20T13:08:28Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > to what end? What good does it do the dead if you have a video of someone falling asleep? I think it does plenty. We need to understand a cause if we expect to correct the problem in the future. If he fell asleep video will show that. In this example video of what happened in the cab would go a long way towards understanding if the operator was truly at fault or was he victimized himself. If it ends up that a thrown rock began this event then there is a rock thrower out there who needs to be caught. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2015, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amtrak-train-that-derailed-may-have-been-struck-by-an-object/720154/39 "2015-05-20T14:17:49Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > to what end? What good does it do the dead if you have a video of someone falling asleep? WTF. What good does it do the dead to know that a crazed passenger commandeered the controls? Or that a brick smashed through the windshield and fucked up the accelerator? It doesn’t do the dead any damn good. But it might tell us what we can do to prevent a similar thing from happening again. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amtrak-train-that-derailed-may-have-been-struck-by-an-object/720154/40 "2015-05-21T00:00:03Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > WTF. > > What good does it do the dead to know that a crazed passenger commandeered the controls? Or that a brick smashed through the windshield and fucked up the accelerator? It doesn’t do the dead any damn good. But it might tell us what we can do to prevent a similar thing from happening again. We already know none of that happened. Why waste the money when it could be used to actually fix the problem in the first place. The type of train in question is different than a diesel electric freighter. They accelerate much faster and the window for errors much smaller. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amtrak-train-that-derailed-may-have-been-struck-by-an-object/720154.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amtrak-train-that-derailed-may-have-been-struck-by-an-object/720154.md?page=3)