A Walt Disney World train operator is dead following a collision of two of the theme park’s iconic monorails. I know this is old news, but it’s particularly of interest to me for several reasons:
Just under two months ago, I spent an unusually soggy week in Orlando at Disney. I was on the very monorails that wrecked (pink and purple). I remember many years ago on a previous Disney vacation riding the purple monorail and being forced to exit at the Contemporary Resort due to mechanical problems. Of course, I don’t know if the purple stripe painted on that train has remained on the same one all these years.
Is it just me, or is mass transit experiencing more wrecks lately? A quick recap:
* US-Airways ditched in the Hudson
* Continental 3407 crashed into a house right here in Buffalo
* Air France crashed a plane near South America
* A Yemeni airliner crashed just recently
* Buffalo native Jeanice McMillan was piloting the Washington D.C. Metro train that rammed into another one
I know it’s morbid to recap all these unfortunate events, but what’s going on here? Plane and trains seem to be having bad days lately.
It will be interesting to observe as the investigation into this Disney monorail crash unfolds. Was the driver in a sound state of mind? Was he texting? Did the brakes fail? Did the autopilot computer go haywire and miscalculate something?
Disney’s monorail system has long been an iconic means of transportation around the Orlando resort. The technology—largely based on electricity and considered “green”—has even been sold to “Adult Disneyland” (Las Vegas) as a means of people moving.
For raw video after the accident, photos, and additional coverage, check out Orlando’s local news.
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