This from a NY Times article
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05...tner=rss&emc=rss
Karl Edler, a retired engineer who drove the line hundreds of times, said an impact could help explain the wreck. When a train pulls out of the North Philadelphia station, the engineer usually twists the throttle “up to notch eight, which is engineer-speak for wide open” he said.
It is about three miles to the curve where Amtrak 188 derailed.
“Usually you just leave the throttle open until you get up to 80 miles per hour, then put on the brake for the curve,” he said. “Seems reasonable that something happened right about that time he would have started slowing down that kept him from taking the throttle off. He was startled by the impact or whatever. And by the time he realized it, it was too late.”
I totally agree, he was startled or spooked and lost his train of thought, he may have panicked and throw the throttle in the wrong direction and when he realized the curve was coming he through it into emergency stop. He is human and humans panic, all of them in one form or another.
That Nutter guy was way out of line.