Category Archives: United States

Mount Vernon, NY – 11 year-old boy falls down elevator shaft

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According to NBC New York, an 11-year old boy fell three floors down an elevator shaft around 12:30pm on Sunday, December 9, 2012. According to police, the victim and other young boys were playing in the building hallway when “the elevator doors unexpectedly opened and one of the boys fell in”. The condition of the boy was not immediately clear, but presumably the boy was hospitalized and sustained serious injury.

Read the full story by NBC New York, published December 11, 2012.

The description of the incident according to police and according to NBC New York indicates that the boy was rescued through the roof of the elevator car. Given that, the elevator doors could not have “unexpectedly opened” in the sense that the doors themselves opened. Rather, based on the description of the accident, involving boys playing in the hallway, it appears that the victim likely struck the door with force, causing the door gibbs to fail, causing the lower retaining door gibbs to break away, thus allowing the bottom of the hoistway door to swing open into the hoistway enough to allow the boy to fall into the open hoistway.

This is similar to the case in which a wheelchair-bound man in Korea crashed his motorized wheelchair into elevator doors, causing the door gibbs to fail, and causing the man to fall into the hoistway. Interestingly, Korea requires that hoistway doors bear a sign with a pictograph that depicts the hazard created by leaning on, or otherwise applying force to, hoistway doors. This appears to be a case in which the hoistway door was forced to bear excessive forces and ultimately failed, exposing a member of the public to the potentially fatal hazards of the hoistway.

Bellevue, WA – Bellevue Square Macy’s escalator rips itself apart, injuring 4

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The Seattle Times and Q13 FOX News are reporting an escalator malfunction in the Macy’s at Bellevue Square shopping center, in Bellevue, Washington.

According to the Seattle Times, “Four people fell when an escalator inside Bellevue Square shopping center malfunctioned tonight, according to the Bellevue Fire Department. A man, woman and two 3-year-olds were taken to local hospitals after the 7:21 p.m. malfunction at Macy’s. The man sustained minor injuries while the three others were taken as a precaution, said Bellevue Fire spokesman Troy Donlin.”

According to Q13 FOX News, the state inspectors have been notified about the incident. The cause of the incident remains unclear at this time. Interestingly, both articles include a photo posted on Twitter by an apparent witness. That photo, which was allegedly taken immediately after the incident, clearly depicts the escalator with some of its steps removed, a bystander at the top landing actually holding a step, and with bystanders crowding around the broken escalator. A stroller is seen laying on its side at the top of the frame, behind a crowd. The articles note that a 3-year old was hospitalized as a precaution after the accident, however, it was not clear at the time of writing whether the stroller was involved with the accident.

Escalators are required to be equipped with numerous safety switches that detect potentially hazardous conditions and safely stop the escalator to prevent injuries and equipment damage, for example, a comb impact device, which detects when a step is impacting the comb teeth at the landing.

Read the full story by the Seattle Times, and the full story published Q13 FOX News, both published December 6, 2012.

On December 7, 2012, Bellevue Patch published an article with some additional information. According to that article, the Macy’s was built in 1982 and the escalator was first inspected in 1983. The violation history for the escalator was apparently rather tame, citing only burnt out demarcation lighting and broken comb teeth over the last two years. Both violations are extremely common and not necessarily indicative of anything. That article also notes that Schindler was the escalator contractor at the time of the incident.

The Patch article also notes that the ground floor escalator, which was apparently running in the up direction, malfunctioned “[causing] the top of the steps to pile up.”

Decatur, AR – Elevator at mill drops 3 stories with man inside

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According to the Siloam Springs Herald Leader, “A 50-year-old man was dropped three stories when the passenger elevator he was riding inside the Simmons Feed Mill in Decatur failed Friday morning.”

Read the full story (subscription required) by Janelle Jessen, Published Wednesday, November 28, 2012

West Mifflin, PA – Elevator motor fire disrupts Black Friday shopping

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According to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania news agency TribLIVE, Black Friday shopping was interrupted at Century III Mall in West Miffllin after an elevator motor caught fire for yet-unknown reasons. Interestingly, an elevator maintenance technician apparently discovered the fire when he noticed heat coming from the motor room.

According to the article, a fire official said the motor and its oil burned within the elevator shaft. No one was injured, but the store and businesses around it were cleared while fire crews remained on scene.

Read the full story at TribLIVE.com, published November 24, 2012.

Atlantic City, NJ – Englishman hung 40 feet in the air after clothing caught by Revel escalator

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According to the Press of Atlantic City, an Englishman allegedly dangled 40 feet in the air after his clothing became caught in an escalator at the Revel Resort and Hotel on August 24, 2012. A lawsuit seeking $75,000 in damages alleges that the victim, Mr. Christopher Eades, who was a guest at the time of the incident, was standing near the escalator on the second floor when part of his clothing became caught in the ascending handrail. The lawsuit goes on to say the victim “was suddenly and precipitously pulled over the railing of the area in which he was then and there standing.” Bystanders eventually rescued the victim, who was then treated for a fractured left leg and knee, in addition to other minor injuries. Court records indicate that the case has been referred to arbitration, and a representative of the resort, which is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, declined to comment.

The victim’s lawyer was quoted as saying “Revel resort features a huge atrium called the Ellipse which features a soaring double escalator intended to dramatically, as if in mid-air, whisk the clientele from the lobby floor to a mezzanine platform. These soaring escalators were intended as a fantasy aerial lift, which seemed to defy the laws of physics but have turned out, in reality, to have failed its ambitious purpose, becoming instead, a dangerous mechanism for physical injury.” Read the full story published March 28, 2013.

This incident re-iterates the importance of paying careful attention when riding on and standing near moving equipment such as escalators and moving walks. Generally, there are no safety devices which would stop the escalator in the event that fabric became entrapped in the handrail. Escalator handrails generally provide a good amount of friction because they are intended to be gripped by riders. However, because they often exhibit such high friction, they can entrap clothing or body parts.

In addition, the subject escalators in this incident have been noted by observers for their unusually high landings. The escalators referenced in this article criss-cross an open atrium up to a height of over 120 feet. Interestingly, the balustrade (handrail) heights on the escalators are at least six inches lower than the balustrades at the landing, which is an unusual inconsistency between typical building codes and elevator codes.

Bellevue, WA – 24 year old man dies after three story fall from shopping mall escalator

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According to Bellevue Patch, a 24-year-old man died after falling three stories at Lincoln Square shopping center in Bellevue, Washington. A police spokeswoman stated that the man, identified as Joel Bush, attempted to ride the escalator by sitting and balancing on the handrail. The man apparently lost his balance and fell backward into the atrium, falling sixty feet. According to police, alcohol was initially suspected to be a factor but ultimately did not appear to contribute to the man’s death.

Read the full story by Bellevue Patch, published December 30, 2011.

Unfortunately despite that this scenario is completely preventable, it is rather common especially for teens and young adults to attempt to “ride” the escalator handrail, either by sitting on the handrail, or holding onto the handrail from the outside of the balustrade. It is interesting to note that escalator handrails are often shorter than the permanent railings that protect an atrium’s open space.

Buford, GA – Child injured on escalator after falling from stroller

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A young child was injured Wednesday, December 28, 2011 around 7 p.m. at the Mall of Georgia in Buford, Georgia. According to a fire official, the child fell out of a stroller while the stroller was on the escalator. The child was taken to a nearby hospital and treated for minor injuries.

This story is an unfortunate example of the very real dangers of boarding an escalator with a stroller. Although it is not directly required by the ASME A17.1, “Safety Code for Elevators and Escalators,” escalator manufacturers and building owners frequently place prominent signs near escalators warning riders not to board with strollers, walkers, or carts. Other accidents involving strollers include strollers being dropped down the escalator and strollers becoming entrapped with the escalator.

This story was originally reported by the Lilburn Mountain Park Patch on December 29, 2011.

Manhattan, NY – Suzanne Hart fatally crushed in freak elevator accident

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According to multiple sources, 41-year old ad executive Suzanne Hart was killed around 10 a.m. on Wednesday, December 14, 2011, while she boarded an elevator on the ground floor at 285 Madison Avenue when the elevator moved up suddenly while the doors were still open, crushing her, and causing the elevator to become stuck between the first and second floors. Two witnesses were inside the elevator when the incident occurred and were subsequently treated for psychological trauma. Read the full initial report by the Wall Street Journal.

The New York City Department of Buildings investigated the incident and concluded that elevator mechanics had used wire jumpers to bypass the elevator’s door interlock circuits, allowing the elevator to move with its doors open. Read the full story by WABC7 Eyewitness News and watch their video report below.

It is difficult to understate how dangerous it is to bypass an elevator’s door interlocks with a wire jumper, and this case is proof that fatal accidents can, and will, occur when wire jumpers are used improperly. This case is eerily reminiscent to another accident that occurred in New York City nearly a year prior, on Christmas Day, December 25, 2010, at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY, in which a woman was seriously injured while boarding an elevator when the elevator moved suddenly with the doors open. In both cases, a mechanic used a wire jumper without a helper or a barricade to protect the riding public.

Long Beach, CA – Woman killed trying to escape stuck elevator at CSULB

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According to the Daily 49er, the campus newspaper at Cal State University Long Beach, Annette Lujan, 47, of Huntington Beach, California, was killed around 9 a.m. Tuesday while trying to escape a stuck elevator. Lujan was on her way to work at the Office of University Research in the Foundation Building when the elevator became stuck between floors. Lujan apparently attempted to pry the doors open and climb up to the next floor to escape, when the elevator suddenly and unexpectedly moved down, crushing her. According to police, a bystander was attempting to help Lujan out of the elevator when the accident occurred. Read the full story by the Daily 49er, published December 6, 2011, as well as a follow-up by the Daily 49er, published January 22, 2012.

According to KNBC Los Angeles, an investigation by California OSHA determined that “misjudgment” was the primary cause of the accident. The four-page report noted that elevator was built in 1994, and was extensively tested by engineers after the incident, but they were “unable to determine the causal factors and their findings were inconclusive.” A section of the report titled “human factor,” cited “misjudgment of hazardous situation” as a major factor contributing to Ms. Lujan’s death. According to the report, the moment before the fatal accident occurred, the elevator car door opened about one foot below the third floor of the building, while the elevator continued to move downward slowly. The sole witness, a student worker, said she tried to help Lujan crawl out of the elevator when it crushed her, catching her neck and shoulders. Read the full story by KNBC Los Angeles, published June 26, 2012, or watch the video below.

View more videos at: http://nbclosangeles.com.

Although elevator malfunctions and entrapments are uncommon, they are often extremely stressful for passengers that become entrapped. However, it is critical that trapped passengers call for help and wait patiently to be rescued by properly trained elevator personnel. Never try to pry the doors open if the elevator stops unexpectedly. Many newer elevators are equipped with “door restrictors,” devices which prevent passengers from opening the elevator doors when the car is not at a landing. Although door restrictors are required by current elevator code, they were not required in 1994.

Although elevators are designed not to run with the doors open, there are limited circumstances in which an elevator may move with the doors open, such as leveling, brake failure, or loss of hydraulic pressure. In these cases, for example, it is possible that the elevator was within the “door zone” defined by code to be approximately one foot above and below a floor, which is close enough to a landing to allow the elevator to move with the doors open. In the event an elevator’s doors open unexpectedly when the car is not at a landing, never try to climb or jump out of the elevator. Stand away from the doors and wait to be rescued by elevator personnel. Always assume that the elevator may move again unexpectedly if it has already malfunctioned. Until the malfunctioning cab has been secured by elevator personnel, there is no way to be sure the elevator is safe to exit.

Phoenix, AZ – Woman injured after hotel elevator fell three stories

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According to ABC15.com and CBS 5 Arizona, a Phoenix woman broke her right ankle, and possibly her left ankle as well, when the elevator she entered dropped three floors at a high speed. The fire department report noted that the victim entered the elevator on the third floor, and as soon as she activated the second floor cab call, she heard a loud noise and then the elevator dropped. The cause of the incident remained unknown. Read the full story by ABC15.com, published December 4, 2011, and the full story by CBS 5 Arizona, published December 4, 2011, and a follow-up posted December 5, 2011. Also check out the video below by ABC15.com, posted on YouTube December 4, 2011.

Based on media reports and the accounts of eyewitnesses and emergency officials, it would seem that the elevator likely experienced a hydraulic system failure. The loud noise heard before the incident may have been a catastrophic failure of a hydraulic piping, fitting, or valve. With a loss of hydraulic containment, the elevator fell as the hydraulic plunger lost supporting pressure.

According to records obtained by ElevatorAccident.net from the City of Phoenix, the incident elevator was a three-story Otis hydraulic elevator with a 2500 lb., 16 passenger capacity and a rated speed of 115 feet per minute. The applicable code year was either 1978 or 1984, although it could not conclusively be determined from the records alone. In either case, a hydraulic elevator of this vintage would not have been required to have a plunger gripper. According to the ASME A17.1a-2002, Safety Code for Elevators and Escalators, a plunger gripper is “a mechanical device attached to a supporting structure in the pit, which stops and holds the car by gripping the plunger.” The basic function of a plunger gripper is to prevent these type of falling cab incidents in hydraulic elevators. Had a plunger gripper been required on this elevator, the victim in this case likely would not have been injured.