Opening Statement by the Chairman, Board of Inquiry

Introduction of the Board of Inquiry and Technical Panel

Board of Inquiry:

• Member Kathryn O’Leary Higgins – (Chairman, Board of Inquiry)
• Member Deborah A.P. Hersman – Board Member (second day of hearing)
• Mr. Bruce Magladry – Acting Director, Office of Highway Safety
• Mr. Vern Ellingstad – Director, Office of Research and Engineering
• Mr. Bob Chipkevich - Director, Office of Railroad, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety (first day of hearing)
• Ms. Elaine Weinstein – Director, Office of Safety Recommendations and Communications (second day of hearing)

Hearing Officer:

• Ms. Michele Ann McMurtry – Report Development Division, Office of Highway Safety

• Mr. Gary Van Etten – Investigator-in-Charge, Office of Highway Safety
• Mr. Ron Kaminski – Survival Factors Group Chairman, Office of Highway Safety
• Ms.Paula Sind-Prunier – Human Performance Group Chairman, Office of Highway Safety
• Mr. Larry Yohe – Vehicle Group Chairman, Office of Highway Safety
• Mr. Joe Panagiotou – Fire and Explosion Investigator, Office of Research and Engineering
• Ms. Michele Beckjord – Project Manager, Office of Highway Safety
• Mr. Pete Kotowski – Motor Carrier Group Chairman, Office of Highway Safety
• Ms. Julie Perrot – Transportation Safety Specialist, Office of Safety Recommendations and Communications

• Public Information Officer:

• Mr. Keith Holloway – Public Affairs Specialist, Office of Public Affairs

• Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
• Texas Department of Public Safety
• Motor Coach Industries (MCI)
• ArvinMeritor Corporation
• Bridgestone/Firestone
• Sunrise Senior Living, Inc.
• United Motorcoach Association (UMA)
• American Bus Association (ABA)
  

Opening Speech by the Investigator-in-Charge
Presentation: [ PDF (2.71 MB) | PPT (5.03 MB) ]
    

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TOPIC #1: Wilmer, Texas, Motorcoach Fire Described by Eyewitnesses

• Jason Saulsbury
• Drew Wood
• Officer Leonard Anthony Shaw (Wilmer Police Department)

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TOPIC #2: Scope of Bus Fire Problems

• Larry Plachno (National Bus Trader)
• Matthew A. Daecher (The Daecher Consulting Group, Inc.)
• Marty Ahrens (National Fire Protection Association)
• Robert Crescenzo (Lancer Insurance)
• Phyllis Planisek (National Interstate Insurance Company)
• Bonnie Bass (FMCSA)

Issue areas:

• History of motorcoach construction.
• Whether buses today are more vulnerable to fire than they have been in the past.
• Bus fire data gaps will be discussed.
• Overlapping data collection/reporting responsibilities of the FMCSA, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), and local authorities with respect to bus fires.

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TOPIC #3:  Source of Wilmer, Texas, Motorcoach Fire, and Fire Propagation and Fire Suppression

• Bob Capstick (MCI)
• Paul Johnston (ArvinMeritor)
• Tony Skipper (Timken Company)
• Brian Queiser (Bridgestone/Firestone)
• Emmett Bevins (Amerex Fire Suppression)
• Roger Saul (NHTSA)

Issue areas:

• Source of the Wilmer bus fire, including the design and maintenance of wheel bearings.
• General assessment of the tire fire threat.
• Motorcoach design and flammability issues.
• Available fire detection and suppression systems.

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TOPIC #4: Motorcoach Evacuation in a Fire

• Roger Saul (NHTSA)
• Paul Murphy (MCI)
• Louis Hotard (Van Hool)
• Paul L. Ford (Delaware Transit)
• Danny Knote (Federal Railroad Administration)

Issue areas:

• Why U.S. motorcoach standards do not require emergency doors.
• Whether other jurisdictions, or countries, have emergency doors.
• Motorcoach window height and exit window operation.
• U.S. Federal flammability standards
• Driver evacuation training will be discussed.

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Day 2 - Wednesday     [transcript (PDF)]

TOPIC # 5:Transporting People with Special Needs

• Kellie Gundling (Sunrise Senior Living)
• LuMarie Polivka-West (American Health Care Association)
• Hilary Styron (National Organization on Disability)
• Joe Cappiello (Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations)
• ______ (U.S. DOT, Office of the Secretary of Transportation)
  

Issue areas:

• What information was available to nursing homes about, and the requirements for, transporting special needs individuals in emergencies.
• What has changed since the accident, including recommendations from the various studies conducted after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
• U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT’s) new role in evacuation transportation.
• What information is now available to nursing homes for the transportation of “persons with special needs during emergencies.

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TOPIC # 6: Global Tours Operation

• Bill Maulsby (Bus Bank)
• Captain David Palmer (Texas Department of Public Safety)
• Robert Miller (FMCSA)
• Ronald Havelaar (FMCSA)
• Don Bridge (Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance)
• Jonathon Berszas (A Great Way to Go, Charters & Tours)

Issue areas:

• Texas education review of Global Limos (no rating, but many violations)
• How the FMCSA preaccident Compliance Review (satisfactory) and FMCSA postaccident Compliance Review (unsatisfactory) resulted in such different outcomes in a relatively short timeframe.
• Non-English speaking drivers and the regulations regarding bus brokers.

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TOPIC # 7: New Entrant and Safestat Issues

• William Quade (FMCSA)
• Bryan Price (FMCSA)
• Don Bridge (Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance)
  

Issue areas:

• Actions FMCSA has promised the NTSB to address open recommendations in this area. (Safety Recommendations H-03-2, H-93-28, and H-04-19.)
  

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TOPIC # 8: Vehicle Inspection, Including Brake Inspector Certification and Driver Training

• Larry Minor (FMCSA)
• Robert Miller (FMCSA)

Issue areas:

• Actions FMCSA has promised the NTSB to address open recommendations in this area. (Safety Recommendations H-98-8, H-02-33, H-02-8, H-02-15 through -18, H-06-1 and -2, and H-05-3 through -5.)
  
  
  

Closing Statement by the Chairman, Board of Inquiry

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