WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board says an analysis of phone records finds the engineer at the helm was not on his cellphone at the time of the deadly crash.
The phone of engineer Brandon Bostian was in “airplane mode” or powered off.
“Analysis of the phone records does not indicate that any calls, texts, or data usage occurred during the time the engineer was operating the train. Amtrak’s records confirm that the engineer did not access the train’s Wi-Fi system while he was operating the locomotive,” says a news release from the NTSB.
Bostian provided the NTSB with the passcode to his phone, and investigators conducted a detailed look at his calls, texts, data and cellphone tower transmission activity. They also looked at records from the on-board WiFi system.
Eight people were killed and more than 200 were injured when the train went off the tracks last month in Philadelphia.
The train was traveling from D.C. to New York City.
Before the derailment, NTSB investigators said the train was going 106 mph in a spot where the speed limit was 50 mph. Bostian applied the emergency brake system, but he was unsuccessful in significantly slowing the train.
Bostian suffered a concussion. He told investigators he does not remember anything about the crash.
