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Deaths in elevators

All,

My team at work appears to have gotten into an argument with another team as to whether anyone (in the history of mankind...) has ever died in an elevator as a result of the cable breaking and the lift plunging to the floor with occupants still inside.

I've done a quick google search but couldn't find anything so I figured I'd try the smartest message board on the internet. But they couldn't help so I came here SmileWavy

Any stories to tell? Links to news articles from reputable sources would be great.

Thanks!

It's virtually impossible because of the centrifugal brakes that swing-out when the car starts falling fast. They are on every elevator car in the world, AFAIK. The real danger in elevators is getting caught inside one when there is a fire and the car is stuck.

Saw an interesting show on Discovery or History channel not long ago about high-rise construction and how modern HR buildings only became possible when the elevator brake was invented. before that, no one would ride in an elevator.

I know about the brakes... any chance that they've ever failed?

Theoretically anything is possible but I've never heard of such a thing. Think about it; elevators all need to be inspected annually by law, the cables are MUCH stronger than they need to be for weight rating, cable would have to snap completely+ brakes fail. Pretty unlikely.

The New York Times article from 1903:

http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9D07E0DF1639E433A25750C2A9639C946297D 6CF

On a related note: I was reading an article about the B-25 bomber crash into the Empire State Building in 1945. It said one of the elevators fell to the ground but the cushion of air being compressed by the elevator slowed it down before the impact and the occupant(s) was hurt but not killed.

Well, there you go. Sounds like a pre-brake era lift, though.

I don't know about deaths due to the cables failing, but there have been some some broken bones and deaths due to elevator accidents in Houston in the last few years from cars dropping several stories and doors closing but the car still moving. And these were not in run down buildings.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 125shifter (Post 4626658)

Yeah, my building (for the broken bones not the decapitation). Huge all granite on the outside, high tech water and air filtration to the entire building completed in 2003.

I can tell you of 1 elevator death as a result of mechanical weirdness, and injuries related to elevator freefall NOT associated with a broken cable.

Cause of Elevator Accidents Still unknown

Quote:

Deborah DeRouen began describing the Dec. 9 elevator accident that left her with compound leg fractures and a fractured vertebra.
< some snipped >
She was severely injured when an elevator at the 717 Texas building at Texas and Milam in downtown Houston precipitously fell from the 27th floor to the 23rd floor. She described the descent as an initial “freefall” that ended as quickly as it began when an emergency brake kicked in.

Although elevator accidents are rare, this was not the only one at the 33-story building in recent weeks. Two people were injured Monday when a nearby elevator in the same elevator bank dropped suddenly from the 27th floor to the 25th floor.

Some employees of the upper floors at 717 Texas are so spooked by the accidents that they have taken to walking down more than 20 stories to reach the first floor.

< more snipped >
“I pressed one, and it started free-falling really fast,” DeRouen said.

Sent airborne during the descent, she slammed hard into the floor when the elevator suddenly halted at the 23rd floor.

Her tibia bone tore through her leg between her knee and ankle, creating a long wound. Her ankle and toes on her left leg were fractured.

The elevator door wouldn’t open, so employees on the 23rd floor could not come to her aid as she pierced the air with screams, Boutros said. They kept her talking, though, worried that she might lose consciousness otherwise, she said.

It took a half-hour for help to arrive, Boutros said.

She has undergone several surgeries on her leg and will undergo at least two surgeries to repair the fractured lower vertebra and ruptured discs, Boutros said.

On Monday, Carleen Naumann, a sales representative for Besco Tubular, and Allan Keel, president of Crimson Exploration, were injured when an elevator dropped precipitously from the 27th floor to the 25th floor.

They were trapped in the elevator for a short time. Keel said he suffered a minor back injury and declined to be taken to a hospital.
Later, called ambulance

Naumann, of Katy, also declined treatment Monday. But she said she called for an ambulance after she got up Tuesday morning and her nose was bleeding. Her ankle also was hurting, she said.

Staff at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Katy determined she had fractured a vertebra in her lower back, she said.

“The elevator was flying. I thought we went down 15 stories. I was shocked to hear it was only two,” she said. “I was airborne and then it was as if we hit bottom.”

But it seems that the only people who have fallen to their deaths in elevator shafts did so without the aid of an elevator.

In the projects in NYC kids elevator surf....

The get on top of one elevator car.. and try to jump to the car on the ascending or descending elevator when it is close..

Needless to say there have been some Deaths in Elevators in Housing Projects in NYC

My Dad is an engineer who used to design elevators. He has shown me safety brake mechanisms as that was part of what he used to test. Not only does the winding gear have a safety brake, but there are safety brakes on the vertical guide rails too that will clamp up on the rail and stop the elevator if the cable breaks. Of course, depending upon where the cable breaks you might not have to worry about the elevator falling to the bottom of the shaft but the end of the cable on its way down to you.
These things are tested and tested and tested to make sure they are super safe. On top of that I believe he said that the average elevator service life is something like 3000 hours, after which I'd think the major systems are replaced. Not much chance of anything going seriously wrong really.

i used to work as an attorney at a firm that specialized in defending elevator companies. quite a few deaths all around the NYC area. the typical death scenario involved usually a building custodian walking into the elevator car, only to find that the car was not there..... which always means one thing...falling down an elevator shaft. never seen a cable break

other typical claims were mis-leveled elevators - pedestrian trips going in or out. this was a daily occurance

sudden drops with abrupt stops - whiplash and spine injuries and occasional fractures

door shuts too soon

There was a cleaning lady decapitated in an elevator in Springfield, VA a few years ago. Car had gotten stuck and she tried to climb out. Her head was just far enough out when it moved again.

I remember an episode of LA Law where a lady was talking to someone while waiting for an elevator. When the bell chimed and the door opened, she walked backwards into it, still talking to her friend. But the car wasn't there, just the open door. Down the shaft. I always think of that when I get into elevators now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by speeder (Post 4626645)

Well, there you go. Sounds like a pre-brake era lift, though.

Nope. Otis invented the brake equipped elevator in 1853.

Quote:

Originally Posted by srandallf (Post 4626791)

My ex tried to keep the door of an elevator in Canada open by putting her body in it. The doors basically tried to crush her.

Quote:

Originally Posted by srandallf (Post 4626791)

i used to work as an attorney at a firm that specialized in defending elevator companies.

Amazing to me what some law firms will specialize in!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dottore (Post 4627248)

Amazing to me what some law firms will specialize in!

That's true. I have a lawyer friend, Hammond Deggs, who specializes in bad breakfast suits.

My understanding is most elevators are counterbalances so in fact they would fall up! However the real danger is the door closing and then the elevator moving.. This occurs mostly when the interlockes are not properly returned after service.. Apparently it happens more often than we care to even think about.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DARISC (Post 4627262)

That's true. I have a lawyer friend, Hammond Deggs, who specializes in bad breakfast suits.

...the world of stand up comedy is poorer place without you...