Page:NTSB - Railroad Accident Report - Derailment on May 25, 1989.djvu/69

 testified that he was not tired when he reported for duty and had no difficulty remaining alert during the trip.

The helper engineer had been employed by the SP for more than 11 years at the time of the accident. He had held the positions of hostler and fireman before being promoted to the position of engineer on November 5, 1979.

The helper engineer stated that he normally operated trains between West Colton and Yuma. He was not qualified on the physical characteristics of the railroad for the territory in which the accident occurred and could not, therefore, operate as a road engineer in this area. He estimated that during the past year he had served as a helper engineer about four times on trains operating over the accident territory. Company records indicate that during the month preceding the accident, the helper engineer had not worked with any of the other crewmembers assigned to the accident train.

The helper brakeman received an emergency call for duty from the crew dispatcher on the evening of May 11, to report For duty at 1:30 a.m., May 12. He stated that he had expected to be called for duty about 10:00 a.m. later that morning. Prior to the emergency call, the brakeman had been off duty since 9:00 p.m. on May 10. The helper brakeman reported the following information about his activities. He had "a normal day" on May 11, had been eating regularly (which for him was one meal in the evening) during the day preceding the accident, had been receiving his usual amount of-rest, about 8 hours daily, and he was not fatigued when he reported for duty on the day of the accident. He had consumed one beer at home on the evening of May 11. His lifestyle had been altered as a result of his wife's death 3 months earlier. He did not indicate that he was not adjusting properly to this loss.

The helper brakeman had been employed by the SP for more than 38 years at the time of the accident, holding the position of brakeman since the time he was hired. He estimated that he had been a crewmember on trains operating over the accident area on about 10 occasions in the past and that he had worked on many occasions with the helper engineer.

On-scene investigators attempted to locate the grips (personal bags) belonging to all five crewmembers. It was learned that the helper crew had taken their bags when they departed the accident site. The grip belonging to the conductor was removed from the wreckage by railroad officials, and investigators were unable to locate any documentation concerning the contents of this grip. The grips belonging to the head-end engineer and brakeman were located in the wreckage and recovered. A review of the contents of these grips revealed nothing noteworthy.

Other Southern Pacific Personnel.--The train dispatcher on duty at the time of the accident normally worked a 5-day week. Prior to the day of the accident, the dispatcher had not worked since May 6, due to illness. She stated that she was feeling fine when she reported for duty on the morning of