A recent power outage that knocked out half of New York City’s subway system for hours and stranded hundreds of riders may have been caused by someone accidentally pressing an “emergency power off” button, officials said
NEW YORK — A recent power outage that knocked out half of New York City’s subway system for hours and stranded hundreds of riders may have been caused by someone accidentally pressing an “emergency power off” button, according to an investigation released Friday.Outside investigators investigating the outage on the evening of Aug. 29 said there was a “high probability” that the button was accidentally pressed due to the loss of a plastic guard designed to prevent accidental activation, according to two reports released by the state government.. Kathy Hotzul.
The unprecedented outage affected more than 80 trains and cast a shadow over a sprawling transit system that has since been hit by remnant flooding from Hurricane Ida.Hochul ordered a comprehensive review of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s operations control center to identify and fix potential weaknesses.”New Yorkers should have absolute confidence in a fully functioning subway system, and it’s our job to restore that confidence,” Hocher said in a statement.The outage affected the subway system’s numbered lines and L trains for several hours from shortly after 9 p.m. that Sunday.Officials said the resumption of service was delayed as passengers on the two stranded trains walked off the tracks themselves, rather than waiting for rescue workers.
The button was pressed after a multi-millisecond power dip at 8:25 p.m., and several mechanical devices at the New York City Rail Transit Control Center were found to stop functioning.
Control center staff worked hard to get the equipment back into service.Someone then pressed the panic button, causing all electrical equipment connected to one of the centre’s power distribution units to lose power at 9.06pm, and power was reportedly restored at 10.30pm.Officials blamed human error for the outage, as well as a lack of organizational structure and guidelines for failing to restore power within 84 minutes.
Janno Lieber, acting chairman and CEO of the MTA, said the agency will immediately reorganize the way it maintains and manages the critical systems that support the control center.