AirTrain Accident Kills Driver

The controversial, $1.9 billion AirTrain project in south Queens met a disastrous setback on Friday when a three-car train derailed during a test run, killing the driver. Originally due to begin partial service later this year, the automated light-rail system had been the target of a sustained, vocal campaign led by local civic groups to styme the project before construction started five years ago. It will serve as a crucial link between JFK International Airport and a transportation hub at Jamaica Station.
Fridays accident took place in the early afternoon, as the train was rounding a curve on the elevated rail near Federal Circle, at the entrance to the airport.
The front car jumped the rail and slammed into the guide-wall, shearing away a 150-foot portion of the concrete barrier and tearing a gaping hole in the trains lightweight metal exterior. The two rear cars collided with the front car and lodged it precariously on the remainder of the guide-wall.
Kevin DeBourgh, 23, of Jamaica, was fatally injured while operating the train. Several massive concrete blocks, placed in the cars to simulate the weight of a 60% load of passengers, shifted during the crash, with several of the blocks crushing the drivers lower torso.
"He was pinned up to the waist and he was very badly hurt," said Fire Lt. David Marmann, who arrived on the scene shortly after the accident with his Rescue Squad 270, based in south Queens. "We were just trying to keep him conscious."
The emergency workers took about 15 minutes to extricate DeBourgh with a "grip-hoist," a rescue apparatus capable of lifting 8,000 pounds, according to Fire Chief Freddy LaFemina, who was also at the accident scene.
DeBourgh was taken to nearby Jamaica Hospital, where he died at 3:05 p.m.
Spokesmen for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and Bombardier Transportation, the designer and manufacturer of the AirTrain, did not speculate about the possible causes of the crash.
"Our top priority has been to ensure the safety of employees and passengers," said Anthony Carcchiolo, a Port Authority representative. "We will not continue testing until we can figure out the cause [of the accident]."
Carcchiolo acknowledged that there had been a minor accident during a test run in July, but the rail system had experienced no other significant mishaps throughout a year of continuous testing. It had been on schedule to start limited service within a few months.
From its inception, the AirTrain project was a sore point for many in south Queens. Some protested that the project would do nothing to solve the transportation concerns of locals, who have long demanded that the city and state governments provide them with efficient, one-ticket rail service to Manhattan.
Others feared that the construction of the new rail system with its proposed "el" connection to Jamaica running along the Van Wyck Expressway would negatively impact local neighborhoods, creating nightmare traffic problems and devaluing properties.
Dozens of civic organizations formed Citizens Against the Nowhere Train (CANT), a coalition group that aimed to block the project altogether and to propose alternative plans that would more likely benefit the communities surrounding JFK.
They were aided by the Air Transport Association (ATA), a lobbying organization for airline carriers that wanted money earmarked for the project taken from airport departure taxes to be used to improve the immediate facilities at JFK itself.
"This train is a negative in every way," Charles Lucas of the South Ozone Park Coalition of Block Associations told The Queens Courier in 1999. "It cant get you from the airport to Manhattan, it cant reduce traffic and it cant ever be transformed into a one-seat ride."
The 8.1-mile systems linear induction motor technology is currently incompatible with the more conventional rotary motor technology of the citys transit system, making future extensions problematic.
Despite the considerable opposition, the Port Authority pushed ahead with the project, successfully navigating the citys lengthy approval process, the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP).
Community Boards 9, 10 and 12 all eventually voted for the new rail system.
"There were misgivings about it," said Betty Braton, chairperson of Community Board 10, "and those misgivings were addressed by the Port Authority."
PA officials explained that the funds for the AirTrain were not being diverted from mass transit improvements in south Queens.
And, as construction began, many local residents changed their perception of the Van Wyck portion of the system.
"People thought it might be another Liberty Avenue el," said Braton. "But they were able to better visualize it once construction started."
Fridays accident, however, raised new concerns about the system the crash took place only a short distance from the Van Wyck portion of the rail line, the roadway below clogged with midday traffic.
"This was a very tragic accident," said Braton, "but until we know what caused it we dont know how it will impact the local community."
According to a report in The New York Times over the weekend, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reversed an earlier decision and said that it would investigate the crash.
The NTSB does not usually investigate accidents that take place during testing phases of projects, but DeBourghs death prompted the organization to get involved in this case.
The Port Authority and Bombardier have already begun investigations into the incident, and will coordinate their efforts with the NTSB, whose representatives arrived at the accident scene on Monday.
Much about the accident is still unknown, including the speed of the train, which is capable of going as fast as 60 miles per hour.
The Port Authority did not comment on reports that the concrete blocks in the cars were not secured, possibly causing a weight shift as the train came around the bend.
"Until the investigation is complete, we are not going to release details like that," said Pasquale DiFulco, a Port Authority spokesman.
Bombardier Transportation designed and manufactured a similar system for Vancouvers Automated Rapid Transit System, according to Carol Sharpe, a company representative.
Since its opening in 1986, the Vancouver system has carried over 400 million passengers without any fatal accidents.