Montana Train Derailment Destroys Six Boeing 737 Fuselages

A freight train carrying six Boeing 737 fuselages derailed in western Montana on July 3, 2014. The accident occurred at 4:06 PM near the towns of Alberton and Superior, approximately 30 miles west of Missoula.

The train, operated by BNSF Railway, was headed to Boeing's factory in Renton, Washington, where the fuselages would be used in the final assembly of new commercial airplanes. The six fuselages represented about 14% of the monthly 737 production at that time, with Boeing producing 42 units of the model each month.

The train was traveling at 31 miles per hour when it left the tracks, and an investigation by the Federal Railroad Administration found that defects in the track geometry caused the derailment. The probable causes were misalignment and/or vertical deflection, which led to dynamic deformation of the rails.