On the 5th of July, 2009, at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida,
two ride trains collided, resulting in the death of one staff member.
This fatal crash however did not take place on a rollercoaster or other thrill ride, but instead
on the resort's monorail system, designed to transport guests around and between the parks.
The monorail system at Walt Disney World was installed in 1971, and expanded several times
during the 1970s and 1980s. By the end of 1988 it consisted of three loops with a total of six
stations along the way; a configuration that has remained unchanged ever since.
Two of these loops are dedicated to the Magic Kingdom section of the resort.
One of these carries an express service that ferries guests between a central
transportation and ticket hub and the Magic Kingdom itself.
The other is a resort line, which stops at several locations around the Magic Kingdom.
The third loop is separate from these two lines and serves the Epcot section of the resort.
As a passenger, if you wish to go from the Epcot loop to either of the Magic Kingdom
loops you must disboard and change trains through the Transportation and Ticket Center.
However, for the purposes of managing the system it is possible to move trains between the loops.
This is done on a routine basis using a switch in the track, and a joining spur
between the different lines. A number of parties are responsible for managing these track switches.
On board each monorail train is a pilot who is, of course, responsible for driving the train.
A supervisor based in a central control room is responsible for providing the
pilot with instructions, and a panel operator in another control room is
responsible for switching on and off power in the track and activating the track switches.
All parties are in constant radio contact.
The incident took place at 2:00am on the 5th of July, 2009.
While most parts of the park were generally closed by this time of night,
the monorails continued to run in order to allow guests to get back to their hotels.
Three trains were in operation on the Epcot line at the time: Monorail Pink, Monorail
Purple and Monorail Coral. Monorail Pink was ready to be taken out of service for the night.
To be able to get back to the maintenance area where trains were usually parked when not in use
it would need to move from the Epcot line to the Magic Kingdom express line.
The first part of this operation went smoothly: Monorail Pink moved past the spur track joining
the two lines and came to a complete halt, then reported in to the supervisor that he had done so.
The supervisor, in turn, contacted the panel operator
and asked them to switch the track so that Monorail Pink could back up onto the spur line.
This is where something went wrong: the panel operator cut power to the Epcot line,
ready to make the switch, but was then distracted by two almost simultaneous radio calls relating
to other trains. After dealing with these, the panel operator returned power to the Epcot line,
incorrectly thinking that he had already made the switch.
He had not. The panel operator contacted the supervisor. The supervisor contacted Monorail Pink
and cleared the pilot to back up onto the spur line. The pilot of Monorail Pink began to back up.
Of course, since the track had not actually been switched
the train didn't back up onto the spur track, but instead moved back along the Epcot line.
Running along the Epcot line in a conflicting direction was Monorail Purple, which had a single
pilot and six passengers on board. The pilot of this train would not have had long to react but
in the few moments he did have he put the train into reverse. His final act was clearly intended
to protect the passengers on board from danger. At 2:00am the trains collided and came to a halt
partially inside the Ticket and Transportation Centre. The rearmost cab of Monorail Pink and
the front cab of Monorail Purple were crushed and entangled, trapping the pilot of Monorail Purple.
Despite the best efforts of passengers and staff he could not be saved.
The victim of this incident was 21-year-old Austin Wuennenberg.
He was a popular and well-liked young man described by those who knew him as a genius, and a
perfect son. Following his death he was remembered fondly by family, colleagues, and even by hundreds
of guests who had the pleasure of meeting him during their time at Walt Disney World.
Disney were quick to determine that no part of the ride system was malfunctioning.
The monorail was up and running again the very next day, even as an investigation took place.
The National Transportation Safety Board compiled a report
noting that there were many things which could, and perhaps should, have prevented the collision.
For example, the monorail was - like many attractions - fitted with a computerized
blocking system, which would prevent two trains from entering the same
block of track. However this system routinely had to be deactivated when reversing a train
onto the spur track between loops, and so could not prevent this accident from taking place.
Equally the supervisor might have been able to determine that the switch had not gone as planned
had they been in the control room at the time of the accident.
Unfortunately they had been out of the room, possibly at a nearby food outlet,
and had been relying on radio contact only to manage the few trains on the system.
Perhaps the pilot of Monorail Pink might have noticed that they were on the wrong track...
but the two tracks were visually very similar.
Combined with partially fogged-up windows and low ambient light it was determined that it would have
been very difficult for the Monorail Pink pilot to realize that they were on the wrong track.
Even then guidance existed stating that before backing up a monorail train
pilots should move from the cab at the front end of the train to the cab at the rear. However
this was not a practice that was typically required or requested by supervisors,
even though it was technically on the books. Accordingly, it was not done on this occasion.
Finally the panel operator might have noticed that they had not correctly switched the track,
as they had access to a video feed of the switch.
However it was established practice to check this only before making the switch to ensure
that no train was in the way. The panel operator had never been briefed to check the video feed
after making the switch to ensure that they had done so correctly. At every stage there was an
opportunity to avert disaster and at every stage this opportunity was narrowly missed.
A slew of changes were made by Disney in the aftermath of the accident. A spotter is now
required to be present in the rear-facing cab whenever a monorail train reverses.
All staff receive extra training. Window defoggers are used. More live video feeds covering switches
have been installed, and a second shop panel operator must verify each switch
visually before the go-ahead can be given for a pilot to move. As a precaution, the practice
of allowing guests to ride in the front cab of the monorail has also been discontinued.
All these changes, and more besides, make the monorail at Walt Disney World safer than it ever
has been. Interestingly only a small portion of each train involved was destroyed in the incident.
The undamaged portions were repurposed, becoming Monorail Teal and Monorail Peach,
both of which remain in service to this day. Since the 5th of July,
2009, the system has transported almost 150,000 people per year without another deadly incident.
That's the story of the one fatal crash in the Walt Disney World monorail's history.
Compared to other attractions within the resort the monorail seems like a relatively
simple and unassuming machine. There are no sharp gradients, no special effects,
only moderate speeds, and a very simple route... but this simplicity is deceiving. Even the most
basic ride is, in fact, an incredibly complicated network of procedures and systems - systems which
must, as this incident demonstrates, be as carefully managed as any other.