NTSB chair decries politicization of East Palestine train disaster

by Zack Budryk - 02/23/23 4:58 PM ET

National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chair Jennifer Homendy, right, speaks Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023, in Washington, about the investigation into the Feb. 3 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, with Director of the NTSB Office of Railroad Robert Hall, left. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

National Transportation Security Board Chair Jennifer Homendy denounced politicized rhetoric around the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment, saying the board’s focus is on the affected community.

Homendy made the remarks Thursday afternoon as part of a press conference at the board’s Washington, D.C., headquarters to announce the results of their preliminary investigation into the Feb. 3 derailment, which spilled several cars’ worth of hazardous chemicals in the eastern Ohio town.

Asked to respond to remarks by former President Trump, who took aim at Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s handling of the derailment in a visit to East Palestine Wednesday, Homendy said “enough with the politics.”

“This is a community that is suffering,” she said. “This is not about politics.”

“This is about addressing their needs [and] their concerns,” Homendy continued. “That’s what this should be about. So I don’t care about the politics. What I care about is figuring out how this happened.”

Buttigieg became the seniormost Biden administration official to visit East Palestine this week — following a visit by Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan last week. His visit also followed East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway’s criticism of President Biden for visiting Ukraine before East Palestine.

Conaway called the juxtaposition “the biggest slap in the face” on Monday.

Gov. Mike DeWine (R) has said the president had personally offered him any resources necessary, but also said earlier this month that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) decided the site was ineligible for a federal response due to the lack of property damage.

However, late last week DeWine announced the federal agency would send a support team to the town.

The NTSB released its preliminary report on the derailment Thursday morning. While it has not yet identified a probable cause, it said surveillance footage seems to confirm reports that a brake bearing overheated ahead of the derailment.