Tag Archives: elevator

Arlington, VA – Elevator mechanic nearly loses hand after getting caught in traction sheave

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An elevator mechanic in his 60s nearly lost his hand on Wednesday, November 7, 2013, around 9:45 a.m. local time, when his hand became entrapped by a traction sheave while he was working on an elevator at 1300 17th Street North, a high rise office building in the Rosslyn neighborhood of Arlington, Virginia. The victim’s coworkers immediately called for paramedics, who arrived shortly after the coworkers were able to free the victim’s hand. Reports indicate that the victim’s hand was almost entirely severed, however, it was not clear at the time of writing whether doctors would be able to save his hand.

Traction sheaves are essentially the “pulley” through which an elevator’s hoist cables pass over, allowing the hoist motor to move the cab. As a result, the weight on each cable at the sheave is generally equal to the weight of the elevator car, the weight of any load within the car, the counterweight, the hoist cables, and half the weight of the traveling cable beneath the car. As a result, it is easy to understand how the incredible force of a sheave entrapment could result in a partial amputation of a limb. Given the victim’s age, it was likely that he was a seasoned elevator industry veteran, so it is not clear what factors contributed to the accident. Elevator mechanics are trained to understand the various hazards that motor rooms present, however even industry veterans can make mistakes. Working around sheaves is particularly dangerous, and sheaves will often bear orange warning labels indicating the entrapment hazard for this reason. Loose fitting clothing, tools, long hair, and even long facial hair can easily become entrapped when working around a moving traction sheave. Because of the hazards that elevator motor rooms present, the riding public should never attempt to access an elevator machine room or the equipment inside without proper training.

Sources reporting this story include:

Bangalore, India – LPG delivery man fatally crushed by descending elevator

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A 44-year old Indian man delivering liquid propane gas died Tuesday, November 5, 2013, around 12:30 p.m. local time, when he was fatally crushed by an elevator in an apartment building in Devara Jeevana Halli, Bangalore, India. According to early reports, the man had completed his delivery on the ground floor, and was on his way to the building’s first floor to collect payment. When he registered a hall call, the elevator doors apparently opened without the cab present. The victim apparently stepped through the opening, falling into the pit, where he was then crushed when the elevator descended seconds later to answer his hall call. Witnesses stated that they observed a significant amount of blood and were only able to see the victim’s hands, and used crowbars in an attempt to lift the cab off the victim. Local police are investigating the circumstances of the accident and had not yet released a formal statement, but noted that it appeared to be a malfunction and not foul play. The official statement also noted that they would investigate whether the elevator manufacturer, Lenzi Elevators India, was criminally negligent.

Typically, modern passenger elevators in the United States use a combination of an elevator car door and hoistway doors at each floor. A door operator mounted on top of the elevator car then opens the hoistway doors when the cab arrives. In such an arrangement, the hoistway doors will remain closed until the cab is lined up with that floor, allowing the door operator to open the hoistway door, which should never open to an empty shaft. However, even in the United States, there are often freight elevator door arrangements in which each floor has an independent door operator. In that case, a malfunction could potentially lead to an open shaft. In this case, it is not clear what the circumstances were. However, in India, “swing door” arrangements that resemble a typical building door are still relatively common, so it is also possible that this case involved a swing door with an independent hoistway door operator. We will update this story if additional information becomes available.

Sources reporting this story include:

Sharjah, UAE – Elevator mechanic dies after cab unexectedly plunges

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Shajo Sh. S., a 33-year-old Indian elevator mechanic working on an elevator in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, died around 1 p.m. local time Saturday, November 2, 2013, after an elevator cab he was working on fell unexpectedly. The victim was apparently performing routine maintenance on an elevator in a residential building in the Al Butaina neighborhood, cleaning the inside of the hoistway doors at each floor. When the elevator cab was around the third floor, it suddenly fell, causing the victim to become pinned between the hoistway wall and the cab.

Early reports indicate that authorities were not notified for at least 40 minutes after the accident occurred. During that time, the victim’s co-workers were apparently attempting to extricate him. By the time authorities arrived, the victim was already deceased. Sharjah Police released a statement urging the immediate reporting of industrial accidents to allow officials to carry out rescue and recovery operations and hopefully prevent future loss of life in similar situations.

This incident marks the third recorded elevator-related fatality this week. Earlier this week, a maintenance worker at a hospital in Decatur, Alabama, was fatally crushed when attempting to repair a freight elevator, and an elevator mechanic in Dallas, Texas, suffered a fatal fall down an open hoistway.

Sources reporting this story include:

Dallas, TX – Elevator technician dies after fatal fall into open hoistway

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A 45-year-old elevator mechanic from Mesquite, Texas, died after falling approximately 20-feet into an open hoistway at the parking garage of 1515 Elm Street, Dallas, Texas, around 8 p.m. Friday, November 1, 2013. The elevator technician, whose name was not yet released by authorities, was apparently servicing equipment in a mechanical room adjacent to the open shaft when he fell. The Dallas Fire Department urban search and rescue team was dispatched to recover the victim, who was declared dead on arrival by the responding paramedics. A spokesperson for the Dallas Police Department said they did not know what caused him to fall, but indicated that it appeared to be an accident, and that Dallas homicide detectives and OSHA were investigating.

Decatur, AL – Hospital maintenance worker fatally crushed by freight elevator

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Michael “Dewayne” Atkins, 41, of Russelville, Alabama, died in an elevator accident that occurred Wednesday, October 30, 2013, around 6:45p.m. at Decatur Morgan Hospital, in Decatur, Alabama. Atkins was a maintenance worker at the hospital and was apparently attempting to repair a freight elevator at the loading dock on the Decatur General campus when the elevator moved down unexpectedly, pinning him between the floor and the bottom of the elevator, fatally crushing him. Early reports did not indicate any factors that might have contributed to the accident. The Alabama Department of Forensic Science will perform an autopsy, and officials with the Alabama Department of Labor are investigating.

Two-way radio communications obtained by ElevatorAccident.net indicated that first responders waited nearly two hours for elevator personnel to arrive to move the cab and extricate the victim, however the coroner had already pronounced the victim dead upon arrival. An official with the Alabama Department of Labor Inspections Division did not provide a comment regarding the circumstances of the incident, but confirmed that a license issued by the Department of Labor is required for personnel that repair or maintain elevators.

It was not clear from any early reports exactly what Mr. Atkins was repairing or why he would have been repairing the elevator in the first place. There was no indication at the time of writing that Mr. Atkins possessed an elevator-related license or had otherwise received training that would qualify him as “elevator personnel” in accordance with the ASME A17.1, “Safety Code for Elevators and Escalators.” An initial investigation by the Alabama Department of Labor indicated that the hoistway door interlock at the level the incident occurred may have been bypassed.

Elevator fatalities involving passengers are exceptionally rare, however, since the victim in this case was apparently attempting to affect a repair on the elevator, he had apparently entered the elevator hoistway, where he was subjected to hazards to which the riding public would normally not be exposed.

Sources reporting this story include:

New Delhi, Delhi, India – Nine people injured after apartment building falls one floor

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Nine people suffered minor injuries around 2:50 p.m. local time, June 18, 2013, when an elevator in an apartment building in New Delhi, Delhi, India apparently “slipped” one floor, falling from the fourth floor before stopping suddenly at the third floor. The victims were all taken to a nearby hospital, where they received first aid and were released. No information was available regarding the cause of the malfunction.

Based on the the description of the incident, it appears that the elevator may have descended uncontrollably, causing the elevator to overspeed downwards, causing the overspeed governor to apply the car safety. Typically, when an elevator exceeds its rated speed, the overspeed governor will first trip electrically, sending a signal to the elevator controller to stop the car. If the controller is unable to stop the car and the car continues to accelerate downward, it will then trip mechanically. When the governor trips mechanically, jaws on the centrifugal governor grab the governor cable. The energy of the descending car then causes the governor cable, which is now fixed, to engage the car’s emergency brakes, which clamp down on the guide rails, stopping the car.

In the United States, the ASME A17.1 “Safety Code for Elevators and Escalators” provides that when the overspeed governor trips mechanically, the car should not decelerate at a rate greater than “1 G”, the rate of normal gravitational acceleration, or 9.8 meters per second-squared. It should be noted that a downward acceleration of “1 G” would cause an elevator rider to experience a relative weight twice their normal weight. That is, a passenger would “weigh” twice their normal weight relative to the elevator floor below their feet, so it is not difficult to understand how a passenger would be thrown around and injured when an elevator stops during a high speed mechanical safety application. However, had the mechanical safety not been provided or malfunctioned, the elevator would have continued to decelerate until it reached terminal velocity and crashed into the pit at the bottom landing, so despite that these passengers suffered minor injuries, they should consider themselves lucky that the safety devices worked as designed, allowing them to escape potentially fatal injuries.

Sources reporting this story locally include:

Tampa, FL – Man suffers fatal fall down elevator hoistway at Tampa International Airport

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Chad Wolfe, a 31-year-old auto mechanic from West Newtown, Pennsylvania, was found dead around 3 a.m. on March 15, 2013, after he apparently fell down an elevator hoistway at Tampa International Airport in Tampa, Florida. Initial reports noted that the victim was intoxicated and behaving erratically, including climbing on a tree in the airport lobby, moments before the accident occurred. The medical examiner’s report noted that the victim had an “oil-like substance” on his hands, and that the investigating detective noted that it appeared the victim “forced open [the] elevator door to gain entry into the elevator shaft.”

Initial reports noted that the hoistway door interlock on the elevator had been “compromised” and that it “had been tampered with” but added that there was no indication that the interlock had malfunctioned prior to the incident. The elevator had passed its most recent inspection before the accident.

This case serves as an unfortunate reminder that the general public should never try to access an elevator hoistway for any reason. The hoistway door interlock, like any other mechanical or electronic device, can be damaged by abuse or vandalism, leading to failures, which can result in unfortunate situations like this where a passenger was able to pry the doors open with their bare hands. Hoistway doors should remain fully closed and locked any time the elevator is not present at that landing. An open hoistway should always be treated as an imminently dangerous fatal hazard.

Download the medical examiner’s report, as provided by 10 News WTSP, or watch their video reports, below:

Sources reporting this incident locally include:

San Francisco, CA – Man fatally crushed in BART elevator shaft

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According to the Huffington Post, a man was crushed by an elevator in San Francisco’s BART subway station on Monday, March 11, 2013. The circumstances surrounding the incident remain somewhat unclear, but the report indicates that a passenger boarded the elevator and registered a cab call in the up direction before hearing “a crunching sound and a man yelp.” The elevator then stopped with that passenger entrapped. The entrapped passenger called for help, and after being successfully rescued, authorities searched the hoistway and found the victim, who was immediately pronounced dead.

Strangely, BART Police Lieutenant John Conneely indicated that “the man may have been sleeping atop the elevator” but that it was unclear how he entered the hoistway or how long he had been inside. Conneely also indicated that personal belongings were found on the car top, but it was not certain that they belonged to the victim. Read the full story published March 11, 2013.

It is unclear if the elevator had a manually operable “run/stop” switch, however, it is unlikely that it would have made a difference in this case, since the only indication that an accident had occurred was when the entrapped passenger heard the victim being crushed.

This highly unusual incident demonstrates that an elevator hoistway is perhaps the most dangerous place a person can be. No one should ever enter the hoistway besides elevator personnel and emergency personnel that have been trained to safely access these spaces. Also in this case, the entrapped passenger responded correctly by waiting for help.

Salimiya, Kuwait City, Kuwait – Worker loses fingers caught in elevator door

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According to Emirates 24/7, a Filipino worker at a restaurant in the Salimiya neighborhood of Kuwait City lost some of his fingers after they became caught between the elevator and the elevator door on Monday, March 4, 2013.

Kuwait police described the elevator as “lacking minimum safety standards”, and the article notes that emergency personnel “had to smash the lift’s door” to release the man. Read the reporting article, published March 4, 2013.

Typically, elevators have door reopening devices such as “safety edges” or “scanner edges” which detect obstructions in the path of the door. A “safety edge” is typically a rubber bumper that retracts when it comes into contact with an obstruction. A “scanner edge” uses beams of light to detect when a beam is interrupted by an obstruction. However, even when these devices are present, there is still the possibility that something as small as a human finger could become entrapped between the outer hoistway doors.

Generally speaking, door entrapment accidents result in severe injuries if the elevator runs while the unsafe condition exists. Similar door entrapment incidents have occurred in the past when garments such as scarfs become entrapped and the elevator runs, leading to strangulation.

Mumbai, India – 18 year-old girl crushed to death under elevator while sweeping pit

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According to Indian news agency DNA (Daily News & Analysis, an 18 year-old girl was crushed to death Wednesday, January 9, 2013, after she entered the hoistway, apparently to sweep the pit. The report is somewhat unusual in that it specifically describes that the motor of the “old lift” somehow crashed down on top of her, fatally crushing her. The victim died at the scene. An employee at the building who was not named described the building as “dilapidated”. A comment on that article also notes that there may have been other similar incidents at that location. Read the full story, published January 10, 2013.

Incidents like this highlight why it is important that access to elevator pits, hoistways, and machine spaces is restricted to elevator personnel only. It is not yet clear how the victim was able to access the pit, however, the original news report indicates that it was apparently part of her “sweeping duty” to sweep the pit. In the United States, building maintenance and housekeeping staff are generally prohibited by code from entering these restricted spaces. Cleaning of the pit should be part of the maintenance control program followed by the elevator contractor during periodic preventive maintenance visits.