On Tuesday, May 31, 2011, approximately 4:55 a.m. eastern daylight time, a 2000 Setra 59-passenger motorcoach operated by Sky Express, Inc., occupied by a driver and 58 passengers, was traveling north on Interstate 95 in the right lane of the three northbound lanes near Doswell, Virginia. The motorcoach drifted from the highway to the right, struck a cable barrier, rotated counterclockwise around its vertical axis, overturned to the right, and rolled onto its roof. As a result of the accident, 4 of the 58 passengers were killed, 14 received serious injuries, and 35 received minor injuries. The driver sustained minor injuries and refused medical treatment.
NTSB Accident Animation simulation of accident sequence, Doswell, VA
We determined that the probable cause of this accident was the failure of the motorcoach driver to maintain control of the vehicle due to his falling asleep while driving because of fatigue resulting from acute sleep loss, poor sleep quality, and circadian disruption and the failure of Sky Express, Inc., management to follow adequate safety practices and to exercise safety oversight of the driver. Contributing to the accident was the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s lack of adequate oversight of Sky Express, Inc., which allowed the company to continue operations despite known safety issues. Contributing to the fatalities and the severity of the injuries was the lack of a comprehensive occupant protection system, including systems for providing passenger restraint and for ensuring sufficient roof strength.
We made three new recommendations to the FMCSA, reiterated previous recommendations to the FMCSA and NHTSA, reclassified a previous recommendation to the FMCSA, and reiterated and reclassified a previous recommendation to NHTSA.
