John Albert  wrote:   
   > The questions remain -- who moved the air brake handle, and why?   
   >   
   > But again, this doesn't "fit the narrative" that the authorities   
   > (prosecutors) want to use to prosecute the employees. So -- at least for   
   > now, there is no "report", so that this information can be kept surpressed.   
      
   John, I don't think any of us have seen or heard what the prosecutors'   
   theory of the case is, but the question of happened to the automatic brakes   
   seems totally irrelevant to me. The train was required to have a sufficient   
   number of handbrakes set to hold the train without air, and it did not.   
   Seems to me the criminal case - at least for the engineer - will be all   
   about determining whose fault that was, and whether it rises to the level   
   of criminal recklessness. What happened with the automatic brakes should   
   have been totally irrelevant, if handbrakes had been set as required.   
      
   >   
   > The investigators saw why the train moved within a short time after   
   > examining the printouts from the event recorders. I'm convinced of this fact.   
   >   
   > They realize that the facts may serve to exonerate the engineer, not convict   
   him.   
      
   How in the bloody hell would this exonerate anybody? The rules require   
   sufficient handbrakes to hold the train, period.   
      
   > Again -- when in the history of railroad disasters has it taken more than   
   > a year for investigators to publish the report of their findings?   
   >   
      
   The NTSB just released two reports on railroad accidents at the beginning   
   of this month. The incidents are from July 2011 and July 2012 respectively.   
   The one incident I was personally familiar with took 27 months to release   
   the report. The reports include not just the facts, but also an analysis of   
   the cause and contributing causes, along with suggested remedial actions.   
   That can take a lot longer to develop consensus. In that case, at least   
   some of the litigation was settled before the report was released... but   
   imagine the impact that the safety board's judgment could have on a tort   
   lawsuit (let alone a criminal prosecution), and how careful they have to be   
   in what they say.   
      
   Dan   
      
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