# Ernest Lieb: AKS



## crushing (Sep 22, 2006)

I just heard on the local news that Ernie Lieb was among the dead in a train crash in Germany today.  Also, here is a link:

http://www.woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5447387&nav=menu44_2



> Michigan man among victims of Germany train crash
> 
> MUSKEGON, Mich. -- A Michigan martial arts expert was among at least 23 people killed Friday when a high-tech train crashed in Germany, his widow said.
> 
> ...





Here is Lieb's biography from his website:

http://www.americankaratesystem.org/lieb.html

:asian:


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## arnisador (Sep 22, 2006)

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## terryl965 (Sep 22, 2006)

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## pstarr (Sep 23, 2006)

. :asian:


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## KENPOJOE (Sep 23, 2006)

crushing said:


> I just heard on the local news that Ernie Lieb was among the dead in a train crash in Germany today. Also, here is a link:
> 
> http://www.woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5447387&nav=menu44_2
> 
> ...


I had just posted this on another board...
Hi Folks!
It is with deep sadness and regret that I must inform you of the tragic Death of Ernest Lieb. He was a legendary figure in the formation of modern tournament karate and a friend of Mr. Parker in his early career. He was tragicly killed in the Magnetic Train accident in Germany yesterday. I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Lieb at the Nick Cerio Memorial Gathering here in Massachusetts. He was a joy to speak to and gave many stories of his early martial arts life and the people who he came to know. You can find out more about the Late Mr. Lieb at his website at www.americankaratesystem.org
I've enclosed the AP article that specifically mentions Mr. Lieb.
Thank you for your time,
KENPOJOE
Magnetic Train Crashes in Germany, Killing 23
Official Spokesman Says Accident 'Was the Result of Human Error'
By MELISSA EDDY, AP

LATHEN, Germany (Sept. 23) - German prosecutors brought in technical experts Saturday to help them probe why a high-speed magnetic train crashed into a maintenance vehicle on a closed, elevated test track, killing 23 people.

The wreck of the Transrapid train sat atop its elevated guideway near Lathen in northwestern Germany as investigators gathered evidence before a visit and news conference by Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee.

The Transrapid uses maglev technology, short for magnetic levitation, in which the train skims over its guideway on powerful magnetic fields without touching a track. That cuts friction and enables speeds up to 270 mph.

Initial indications were that human error, not sophisticated maglev technology, was to blame for putting the maintenance vehicle on the track at the same time as the Transrapid train, prosecutors and company officials said.

The train was going about 125 mph with 29 people aboard when it struck the maintenance vehicle, hurling it up and into the roof and upper part of the train.

Kevin Coates, a former spokesman for Transrapid, said it was the first time that he was aware of a crash of a magnetic levitation train.

"I have to believe that this is not a malfunction of the technology but a communications breakdown" between the operators and the maintenance personnel, he told the AP by telephone from Maryland.

Police spokesman Ewald Temmen said prosecutors would go over the scene Saturday with technical experts while investigators sought to identify all the victims. They included American Ernest Lieb, 66, a martial arts expert from Muskegon, Mich., who was visiting his native Germany to conduct a seminar on karate.

Other victims have not been publicly identified. Officials said they included workers for utility RWE, Transrapid International, the company that makes the train, and a nursing service. The 20-mile track, operated by Munich-based IABG, is mainly used to show off maglev technology, but tourists are allowed to ride the train as well.

Rudolf Schwarz, a spokesman for IABG, said the accident was the result of human error. "At this time, the accident was not caused by a technical failure. It is the result of human error," he said.

One IABG employee was killed, said local councilor Harmann Roering. "I know he has ridden it more than 50 times," Roering said. Another victim was a single mother of a 16-year-old daughter who was not aboard.

Roering said people in the region, where some 300 jobs depend on the maglev facility, were shaken by the tragedy. He underscored "how important the Transrapid project is for the region. There are many small and medium-sized businesses that have developed and their existence comes from the facility."

Maglev technology has been around for years, and Germany has been eager to export the Transrapid, whose maker is a joint company between industrial giants Siemens AG and ThyssenKrupp. But the technology has not caught on even as high-speed train service has expanded using the conventional wheels-and-rails approach. Concerns have included the expense of building new lines.


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## Carol (Sep 28, 2006)

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## Hand Sword (Sep 28, 2006)

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## Jonathan Randall (Sep 28, 2006)

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## MJS (Sep 28, 2006)

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## IcemanSK (Sep 29, 2006)

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## John Brewer (Sep 29, 2006)

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