About 12:17 p.m. on February 1, 2001, the two cars of the Angels Flight funicular railway (Angels Flight) collided in downtown Los Angeles, California. The accident resulted in 7 injuries and 1 fatality among the 20 passengers aboard the two cars and injuries to a pedestrian. The Angels Flight Operating Company estimated monetary damage to the cars at $370,000 with an additional $1.2 million to replace the funicular haul system.
We determined that the probable cause of this accident was the Yantrak Company's (Lift Engineering's) improper design and construction of the Angels Flight funicular drive and the failure of the City of Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency, its contractors (Pueblo Contracting Services, Yantrak, and Harris and Associates), and the California Public Utilities Commission to ensure that the railway system conformed to initial safety design specifications and known funicular safety standards.
We made recommendations to the California Public Utilities Commission, the City of Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency, and the American National Standards Institute.
