October 28, 2010
Houston Intercontinental Airport Train accident kills one, injures another
A high-angle rescue was performed to bring the injured man to safety.
HUMBLE - An inter-terminal above-ground train at Bush Intercontinental Airport, known as the Automated People Mover
or APM, struck two people on an elevated section of the rail near Terminal A Oct. 26, killing one and injuring another.
In a news conference Tuesday afternoon Marlene McClinton, spokeswoman for the Houston Airport System, said the two
victims were construction workers going about their job. According to McClinton, the workers were on the train
tracks, occupied with a city project managed by Continental, when they were struck by the APM, which was in automatic mode versus manual operation. The train had just departed from Terminal B with two airport employees on
board.
The victims' identities were not available. The injured man was transported by Life Flight and as of Tuesday afternoon, McClinton said his condition was not known.
Camera surveillance may provide additional clues about how exactly the accident happened, she said, and a full investigation by OSHA and the NTSB is underway.
The APM has been in operation at IAH since 1999. It connects all five airport terminals and can feed up to 5,000 passengers per hour, McClinton said. To her knowledge, she added, there have been no prior accidents with the APM,
but research will be conducted to look into the train's safety record.
