A tragic metro accident in Washington D.C., possibly caused by computer problems, killed nine people and left more than 80 injured on June 22.  The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the crash.  The Associated Press reported, “The train was operating on automatic mode at the time of the crash.”

  According to Debbie Hersman, an investigator with the NTSB, said “It is unclear if the emergency brake was engaged when the crash occurred.”  Currently, the NTSB believes computer issues caused the accident. This calls into question the efficiency of subway technology.

One of many CATA buses on campus for the students at Penn State.

The NTSB tested the control system of the train following the accident.  They found that the train might not have received infomation that trains ahead of it had stopped on the tracks.      The metro can either be set to automatic or manual mode.  In automatic mode the train will apply the brakes by itself, but manual operation requires the conductor to apply the brake.

     The NTSB news release did not say whether or not the same problems were happening prior to the crash.  Another release said that subways could have had trouble receiving important signals to stop or slow down, within the 740 feet of the accident. “The NTSB is working on making data boxes on the metros that can provide important information, more sufficient,” Hersman said.  

     Following the crash in D.C., the safety board tested the control and brake systems of all of the trains and found that some of them have trouble receiving important signals.

      To keep public transportation safe, the NTSB is working on enhancing the computers and technology in vehicles across the nation.  Their mission is to provide the safest transportation for passengers.