Footage of Austin Wuennenberg, the Ill-Fated Monorail Pilot / New NTSB Investigation

[Ride Warrior]

Bombardier has had absolutely nothing to do with the Disneyland Monorail.

Between DL and WDW, were two different Canadian manufacturers used?

[niklj]

That video and accompanying e-mail just made Austin so much more real to me, as someone who lives all the way on the opposite coast. He seemed like such an awesome cast member and I love how his first answer to how the monorail ran was "magic." And indeed, he seemed to be magic.

RIP Austin.

[Ride Warrior]

That video and accompanying e-mail just made Austin so much more real to me, as someone who lives all the way on the opposite coast. He seemed like such an awesome cast member and I love how his first answer to how the monorail ran was "magic." And indeed, he seemed to be magic.

RIP Austin.

Austin was indeed awesome and magical. Thank you for the wonderful post, niklj.

[aimster]

The WDW monorails were manufactured by the same Canadian company that screwed up the Disneyland monorails. Wonder if the design flaws of the monorails contributed to the accident?

Well, considering the current WDW monorails were built over 20 years ago (they've been in service since 1989), and the currently DL monorails are brand-spanking new, I really don't think so.

[Ride Warrior]

Well, considering the current WDW monorails were built over 20 years ago (they've been in service since 1989), and the currently DL monorails are brand-spanking new, I really don't think so.

Yeah. I realize this now. Apparently, WDW and DL monorails were manufactured by two different Canadian companies. I believe Disneyland has learned it's lesson about outsourcing the building of new monorails. I think that future projects will see the design and manufacturing take place in-shop (just like the old days) in the park. WDW would be wise to do the same thing.

[OC2Epcot]

Great video of Austin, sad to see, but you can see how much he enjoyed his job. We rode in the front of one of the monorails on my last trip to WDW. It would be sad if they stop that permanently.

[Wesley815]

It would be sad if they stop that permanently.

Not in my opinion... The drivers need to focus on what they are doing.

[sticks7107]

I think Disney should stop passengers from riding with the pilot immediately. I'm wonderinig, seeing how chatty he is with the guests, if that could have been a contributing factor in the accident.

for most of the video (and most of the talking) they were stationary. when he was actually piloting, he had his eyes forward, and I'd like to think that the conversation he carried on while actually moving was less intense, more about him, so it didn't require much thought


so i think it is more than ok if guests continue to ride with the pilot

[Ride Warrior]

Great video of Austin, sad to see, but you can see how much he enjoyed his job. We rode in the front of one of the monorails on my last trip to WDW. It would be sad if they stop that permanently.

In the video, he seems like a wonderul representative for disney and a great person.

Not in my opinion... The drivers need to focus on what they are doing.

If the investigation uncovers that Austin was grocely negligent in his responsibilities as a pilot, I would agree with you Wesley.

for most of the video (and most of the talking) they were stationary. when he was actually piloting, he had his eyes forward, and I'd like to think that the conversation he carried on while actually moving was less intense, more about him, so it didn't require much thought


so i think it is more than ok if guests continue to ride with the pilot

Regardless of the outcome of the investigation, I agee sticks that the policy of rguests being allowed to ride with a monorail pilot should not be changed.

[lazyboy97O]

Yeah. I realize this now. Apparently, WDW and DL monorails were manufactured by two different Canadian companies. I believe Disneyland has learned it's lesson about outsourcing the building of new monorails. I think that future projects will see the design and manufacturing take place in-shop (just like the old days) in the park. WDW would be wise to do the same thing.

Why would that be a wise move for Walt Disney World? Bombardier is a huge transportation builder.

Worldwide Presence of Bombardier

I think Disney should stop passengers from riding with the pilot immediately. I'm wonderinig, seeing how chatty he is with the guests, if that could have been a contributing factor in the accident.

There were no guests on Monorail Pink and there were no guests in the cab with Austin. They were not a factor.

[Ride Warrior]

Why would that be a wise move for Walt Disney World? Bombardier is a huge transportation builder.

Worldwide Presence of Bombardier

Great link, lazyboy. If Disney outsourses the monorails again, it looks like bombardier would definitely be the way to go.

That said, Al has criticized the outsoursing of monorail construction at Disneyland...and i agree with him. I truely feel Disney will be wise to have in-house control of the interpretation of it's own plans where monorails are concerned...with respect to any Disney park.

[MickeyMania]

Mark VII (aka the Disneyland trains) was engineered by Burke Design, which is based out of Rhode Island. With some minor, apparently TOO minor, oversight from WDI.

Bombardier is pretty much garbage, as far as I can tell. Their attempt to build the monorail here in Vegas, which is basically just a Mark VI with a computerized driver, was a disaster. We're talking tires falling off trains onto cars, parts breaking and dragging along the beam, etc. The system launched and then was shut down for six months almost immediately for problems.

Their operators aren't very good either. As Bombardier operated the LVM, they ran one train's nose into the shop barrier that they forgot to open, telling a train to leave the shop and go out onto the track and forgetting to push the button to let the train get out. Another time, they used manual control to open the door of an occupied cabin WHILE IT WAS MOVING OVER A BUSY STREET. LVM management eventually bounced Bombardier and replaced them with another firm.