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MONTGOMERY, W.Va. (AP) — The latest on the results of a federal investigation into a fiery oil train derailment in southern West Virginia:
10:50 a.m.:
The acting chief of the Federal Railroad Administration says a February train accident in southern West Virginia was preventable.
Sarah Feinberg said Friday that a CSX contractor's equipment picked up a potential flaw during inspections from a truck riding along the tracks in Mount Carbon in December 2014 and last January.
She said the truck's operator indicated in subsequent interviews that it the problem appeared to be due to surface conditions, not a rail flaw.
Feinberg says that if the operator had left the vehicle to inspect the location more closely or used a hand-held device, investigators believe the defect would have been discovered before February's derailment.
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9:35 a.m.:
Federal investigators say a broken rail that wasn't found on two previous inspections led to a fiery oil train derailment in southern West Virginia in February.
The Federal Railroad Administration on Friday announced the results of its investigation into the Feb. 16 derailment during a snowstorm in Mount Carbon.
The FRA says the broken rail resulted from a vertical split head rail defect. The problem was missed by CSX Corp. and a contractor on two separate inspections in the months leading up the accident.
The CSX train was carrying 3 million gallons of Bakken crude oil. Twenty-seven of the train's 109 cars derailed. Twenty cars leaked crude oil.
The derailment shot fireballs into the sky, burned down a nearby house and caused fires on the ground that smoldered for days.
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8:30 a.m.
The Federal Railroad Administration is set to announce what caused a fiery oil train derailment in southern West Virginia.
The agency has scheduled a news conference for Friday morning at BridgeValley Community and Technical College in Montgomery.
A CSX train carrying 3 million gallons of Bakken crude oil derailed in the town of Mount Carbon during a Feb. 16 snowstorm.
Twenty-seven of the train's 109 cars derailed. Twenty cars leaked crude oil.
The derailment shot fireballs into the sky, burned down a nearby house and caused fires on the ground that smoldered for days.
The owner of the destroyed home was treated for inhalation injuries. No one else in the area was hurt.
Speed had previously been ruled out as a factor.
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