NEW YORK – The Aug. 29 subway power outage that stranded hundreds of people on the subway was the result of human error, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office said in a report Friday.
The statement noted that someone apparently pressed a power switch that should have had a protective cover, but did not.
That, and the cascading series of faults that followed, destroyed the numbered lines of the MTA subway, as well as the L train, and sparked a full-scale rescue in The Bronx.
The state immediately identified a systems failure that contributed to the problem, but the new report, prepared by two outside engineering firms, makes clear that it started with human error and continued from there.
“Reports revealed that the triggering cause of the power loss at the New York City Transit Railroad Control Center was the by-product of a manually activated kill switch in one of the building’s power distribution units.” the governor’s office said in its statement. “Preliminary indications suggest that the emergency button could have been accidentally pressed as a plastic guard was missing that would prevent accidental activation.”
Things deteriorated from there, they said, citing “internal organizational and process failures” that prevented the MTA from restoring power for more than an hour.
Engineers recommended a number of improvements, including more modern management systems to monitor electrical distribution, as well as additional equipment to reinforce existing circuits.
“New Yorkers deserve absolute confidence in a fully functioning subway system, and it is our job to restore that confidence,” Governor Kathy Hochul said in a statement.
– .
