WASHINGTON—The engineer at the controls of an Amtrak train when it fatally derailed in Philadelphia has been “extremely cooperative” with investigators trying to determine the cause of the crash, a National Transportation Safety Board official said Monday.
The official, who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly, talked to reporters on condition of anonymity shortly before the board released evidence gathered in its investigation of the crash that killed eight people and injured 200 others last May.
Among the evidence are transcripts of two interviews investigators had with the engineer, Brandon Bostian. Investigators have said previously that Bostian hit his head in the crash and says he doesn’t recall what happened.
The official stressed that the documents released by the board contain only factual information, rather than analysis or conclusions.
NTSB has wrapped up its investigative phase into the accident. Next, investigators will analyze the evidence, prepare a report on the probable cause of the derailment and make safety recommendations. A draft report is expected to be delivered to board members in a meeting not yet scheduled, but that will likely happen around the May 12 anniversary of the crash.
Investigators had already released substantial information about the crash of Amtrak 188, including that the train’s data recorder shows it was traveling at about twice the speed limit of 50 mph when it entered Frankford Junction, one of the sharpest curves in Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor between Boston and Washington.
