Subway power shutdown caused by human error, probe finds

The power outage that contributed to hundreds of New York City subway riders being stranded on trains last month was caused by someone turning off a power switch at the subway’s control center, according to the preliminary findings of an investigation.

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Friday released the findings, which determined that "human error" was behind the Aug. 29 incident, during which an MTA electrical backup system failed to activate following a Con Edison voltage problem.

More than 600 riders on 80 trains — roughly half those in operation — were stranded during the outage, which lasted for more than an hour. Many "self-evacuated" onto the tracks, prolonging the subway service outage as emergency personnel scoured subway tunnels to make sure no riders were still in them.

The report revealed that "the precipitating cause of the loss of power at the New York City Transit Rail Control Center was the byproduct of a manually-activated power-off switch on one of the building's power distribution units."

"Preliminary indications suggest that the emergency push button might have been accidentally pressed since a plastic guard that would prevent accidental activation was missing," said the report, which was prepared by two independent consulting firms.

In a statement, Hochul said she would direct the MTA to review all operation control centers across the entire system "to identify any further potential weaknesses."

"New Yorkers deserve absolute confidence in a fully functioning subway system, and it is our job to restore that confidence," Hochul said.

The report also faulted "internal organization and process flaws" at the MTA, and said the problems were made worse because the subway control center lacked the capability to monitor power distribution.

MTA acting chairman and chief executive Janno Lieber pledged to overhaul "how we maintain and manage key systems" at the control center, and improve power redundancy issues.

By Alfonso A. Castillo

alfonso.castillo@newsday.com@alfonsoreports

Alfonso Castillo has been reporting for Newsday since 1999 and covering the transportation beat since 2008. He grew up in the Bronx and Queens and now lives in Valley Stream with his wife and two sons.