NTSB holds hearing to investigate Norfolk Southern plane crash – The Presidential Prayer Team

The company sought to rebut the agency’s findings regarding the derailment and controlled burn of toxic chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio.

This week, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chair Jennifer Homendy made a strong statement at the panel’s 2023 hearing on the Norfolk Southern freight train crash in East Palestine, Ohio. This is the first of a series of hearings the NTSB will hold since the agency concluded its formal investigation into the accident.

The NTSB’s investigation found that Norfolk Southern unnecessarily conducted a controlled burn to clean up the gallons of toxic chemicals spilled during the accident. The NTSB documented this in its investigation and concluded that this not only endangered the lives of local residents, but may have been an attempt to tamper with train parts that could have been used as additional evidence.

Chairwoman Homendy said a senior Norfolk Southern official asked the NTSB the month before the hearing to “dispel the ‘rumor’ that Norfolk Southern chose to move trains by venting and burning.” She said the exchange with the railroad official was “unethical and inappropriate” and that the official ended the conversation with a threat.

Chairman Homendy added that Norfolk Southern hired a private company to conduct its own chemical testing and attempted to present those separate results as evidence in the NTSB investigation. Parties are not permitted to falsify their own evidence and develop their own facts outside of the NTSB investigation process, and that is exactly what Norfolk Southern did, the NTSB chairman said.

Pray with us as the Lord shows you…

• For the benefit of Chairman Homendy and members of the NTSB as they seek to hold Norfolk Southern accountable for decisions and actions taken following the derailment.
• I wish God’s healing to the people of East Palestine, Ohio, and wisdom to government officials as they continue to combat pollution from the burning of chemicals.

Sources: Reuters. AP News

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