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CSX Train Derails In New River Gorge, Injuring 3 Railroad Workers

In a statement, CSX said an empty coal train struck a rock slide before 5 a.m. near Sandstone. The train’s four locomotives derailed and one caught fire.

A CSX train derailed early Wednesday in the New River Gorge, but no life-threatening injuries or hazardous materials were involved, according to the railroad.

In a statement, CSX said a 109-car empty coal train struck a rock slide before 5 a.m. near Sandstone.

The train’s four locomotives derailed and one caught fire. One locomotive and one fuel tank went into the river, according to the West Virginia Emergency Management Division.

Three crew members were on board – an engineer, a conductor and an engineer trainee. All three were injured, CSX said, though to what extent was not immediately clear.

The railroad said an unknown quantity of diesel fuel spilled and that it would deploy containment measures in the New River.

The Department of Health and Human Resources notified local water systems that could be affected. West Virginia American Water is monitoring water quality and has not shut down any intakes.

Amtrak’s Cardinal was canceled in both directions through West Virginia because of the derailment.

The CSX derailment comes as another big eastern railroad, Norfolk Southern, faces intense scrutiny of its safety culture following a series of recent incidents.

The National Transportation Safety Board announced Tuesday that it is investigating Norfolk Southern’s safety practices. The investigation follows two high-profile derailments in Ohio, including the one in East Palestine last month and another over the weekend in Springfield.

A Norfolk Southern conductor was also killed on the job Tuesday in Cleveland.

The NTSB sent teams to investigate all three Ohio incidents. Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw is scheduled to testify before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Thursday.

“We must do better in terms of rail safety,” tweeted Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-West Virginia, the ranking member of the committee.

In February 2015, a CSX train carrying Bakken crude oil derailed in Mount Carbon, resulting in explosions and fires. Hundreds of local residents were evacuated, and one home was destroyed.

The derailment released 362,000 gallons of crude oil, according to a Federal Railroad Administration report.

In 2018, CSX reached a settlement in which it paid $1.2 million to the federal government and $1 million to West Virginia over the derailment’s impact to water quality in the area.

Investigators determined that a broken rail caused the Mount Carbon derailment.

3 Perish In Plane Crash In Northern West Virginia

A small plane carrying three people crashed in northern West Virginia Thursday.

The single engine Piper PA-32 aircraft took off from Shawnee Field Airport in Bloomfield, Indiana and was headed to Deck Airport in Myerstown, Pennsylvania.

Officials with the Federal Aviation Administration said the plane lost altitude before it crashed in a wooded area near Metz, in Marion County, about 90 miles south of Pittsburgh.

The aircraft was owned by Skyhawk Associates of Myerstown, Pennsylvania.

According to the Marion County Sheriff’s Department, the Mannington Volunteer Fire Department received a report around 7 p.m. of an aircraft down.

First responders located parts of wreckage in the Campbells Run area.

Three people, including the pilot and two passengers were killed. The names of the victims have not yet been released.

The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) were expected to travel to the crash site Friday afternoon to begin their investigation.

No Flight Data From Helicopter That Crashed In Logan County

The Vietnam-era Huey helicopter that crashed on Wednesday in Logan County, killing all six people aboard, did not have a cockpit voice recorder or flight data recorder.

Though federal law does not require such devices, they could have helped investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board determine why the helicopter crashed.

According to a preliminary report from the NTSB, the Bell UH-1 crashed a few minutes after taking off from the Logan County Airport just before 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Much of the wreckage was destroyed in a fire. The pilot, three passengers and two relatives of the pilot were killed.

The flight was part of an annual event called the Huey Reunion. Helicopter rides were organized by MARPAT Aviation.

The helicopter was removed from the crash site on Friday and transported to a secure location so NTSB investigators can examine it further.

NTSB, FAA Investigating Fatal Helicopter Crash In Logan County

Local authorities say the bell UH-1 helicopter was taking passengers on a tourist ride when it crashed and caught fire on Blair Mountain Highway.

Six people are dead in southern West Virginia after a helicopter crash on Wednesday.

A Vietnam-era Huey helicopter crashed on a rural highway in Logan County West Virginia around 5 p.m. local time on Wednesday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Local authorities say the bell UH-1 helicopter was taking passengers on a tourist ride when it crashed and caught fire on Blair Mountain Highway.

A woman who lives in the area told local TV stations she saw the chopper go down and tried to see if there was anything she could do to help. But she said the fire was so hot that she couldn’t get close enough.

In a statement, U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin said, “our entire state feels this loss.”

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.

NTSB: Railcar in Chlorine Leak Had 46-Inch Crack

A report by the National Transportation Safety Board says the design of a railcar that leaked chlorine at a New Martinsville plant had been under scrutiny.

The NTSB issued the preliminary report Monday detailing the Aug. 27 chlorine gas spill at the Axiall Natrium plant.

The report describes a 46-inch-long crack on one end of the tank car that leaked, located on a part called the “stub sill.” Ninety tons of chlorine were released from the crack.

The tank was built in 1981 and had a particular “sub sill” underframe called an ACF 200. In 2006, the Federal Railroad Administration issued a safety advisory that noted “defects in some tank cars equipped with the ACF 200 sub sills,” including cracks.

Axiall Corp. spokesman Chip Swearingen says the company is fully cooperating with the NTSB.

National Agency to Investigate Chlorine Leak at W.Va. Plant

The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the cause of a chlorine leak at a West Virginia chemical plant that prompted some communities nearby to evacuate and workers to seek medical attention.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that the NTSB announced its decision Wednesday to investigate the leak at Axiall Corp.’s chemical plant in Natrium.

Axiall said a rail tanker car loaded with liquid chlorine developed a leak at the chemical facility on Saturday. The resulting cloud forced hundreds from their homes. Five plant workers were treated at an on-site health facility and two other workers were treated at a hospital and later released.

On Saturday, the NTSB also said it would not investigate, but agency spokesman Eric Weiss said Wednesday that unspecified “new information” prompted the agency to change course. He did not elaborate.