Of course that is always a possibility. Could explain the acceleration from 70 to 106 in the minute thirty sec before the derailment, but you would think that a distraction - as the reported 'something hit the train' story - still would not cause a qualified engineer to not remember which side of dead man's curve he was on... We'll need to wait for further analysis of the data recorder to find out if the acceleration was defect triggered or operator initiated.
hence the comment on signal aspect and speed.
My error. I misunderstood your intent with the example.
I am a train person..
Would that be train person as in 'I've been working on the railroad' or train person as in 'foamer trackside with six cameras..' ;-)
(Of course there is the ultimate choice - 'both' ;-)
No, I do not work on the railroad. I like trains but not enough to stand by the tracks and record them. I can see and listen to all the trains I want from the comfort of my home, online.