Federal transportation safety officials will be gathering information about a fatal malfunction on Washington’s subway system during a rare investigative hearing.
One woman died and more than 80 others were sickened by smoke after an electrical malfunction in January caused a train to fill with smoke while it stopped in a tunnel in downtown Washington.
The stricken passengers had to wait 30 minutes before emergency workers arrived to help. Relatives of the woman who died have filed a lawsuit against the Metro transit agency.
The National Transportation Safety Board is holding a hearing Tuesday and Wednesday. Officials with Metro and with local fire and rescue departments are scheduled to testify.
Before it begins, the NTSB will release a trove of documents that could provide more clarity about the malfunction.
