S4 · 02/15
2015 · 13:30 ET ·
Sperry Rail Service · Mount Carbon, WV, USA
| Company | Sperry Rail Service |
| Category | rail supplier |
| Type | crash |
| Date | 02/15 2015 |
| Time of day | 13:30 ET |
| Location | Mount Carbon, WV, USA |
| Severity | S4 (serious injury, total loss, or grounding) |
| Scale | 25-27 tank cars derailed, 1 injury, 1 home destroyed |
| Confidence | high |
| Verification | Yes - adversarially checked against the cited source |
| Source | Bluefield Daily Telegraph |
A CSX unit train carrying Bakken crude oil derailed near Mount Carbon, WV when a broken rail (vertical split head defect) gave way; contractor Sperry Rail Service had detected rail flaw indications at that location in Dec 2014 and Jan 2015 ultrasonic tests, but its operator did not follow up with a ground visual exam or hand test to confirm them. About 25-27 tank cars derailed and the resulting fire destroyed a home and garage, injured one person via smoke inhalation, and forced roughly 1,000 residents to evacuate.