The head of the National Transportation Safety Board said the agency "is working vigorously to understand what caused" the Feb. 3 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
In a rare series of posts on Twitter on Thursday evening, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy issued "a message to the community" as well as "a plea to those spreading misinformation."
She added: "Nothing...nothing is more important than accuracy at a moment like this, which is why the NTSB is deliberate in our approach to investigations. Credibility is ESSENTIAL to our lifesaving mission. The NTSB process WORKS.
The NTSB chair addressed speculation that a rule on electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) breaks -- if implemented -- would have prevented the train derailment, which she said was "FALSE."
"The ECP braking rule would've applied ONLY to HIGH HAZARD FLAMMABLE TRAINS. The train that derailed in East Palestine was a MIXED FREIGHT TRAIN containing only 3 placarded Class 3 flammable liquids cars," she tweeted. "This means even if the rule had gone into effect, this train wouldn't have had ECP brakes."
Finally, Homendy urged members of the public to let her agency lead the investigation.
