Elevator misbehaves and sends man 31 floors up crashing into the top - General

Believe it or not the odds of this happening are about 2x more likely than the elevator falling to the ground.

Also, elevators are statistically significantly safer than planes and cars so everyone calm down. Still sucks quite a bit for that guy.

What if you were to lay down flat on your belly with your arms and legs stretched out? Would that make it worse?

[QUOTE=icedt;45037831]Should of jumped, just like that one Mythbusters episode.[/QUOTE] Do you not know how physics work?

[QUOTE=gk99;45038462]Do you not know how physics work?[/QUOTE] "I'm travelling upwards, I know! Let's jump...up!"

[QUOTE=Leestons;45038529]"I'm travelling upwards, I know! Let's jump...up!"[/QUOTE] [img]http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__zYhJoomgQQ/S2C-XH1RwGI/AAAAAAAAAWE/MbOXEtQNzt0/s400/dig-up-stupid.jpg[/img] He means jump down, stupid. Also for all this guys awful luck, he's still slightly lucky that the elevator cables didn't break at the top and let him fall all the way back down again.

[QUOTE=icedt;45037831]Should of jumped, just like that one Mythbusters episode.[/QUOTE] should've rolled

Fucking weird how I had a nightmare where I was in a lift that went to a floor that didn't exist and would kill me. Not that I would be paranoid about lifts, but I feel bad that this dude basically experienced my nightmare.

shit, my b

[QUOTE=Zukriuchen;45037217]i wonder, would lying on the floor be the best option in this situation?[/QUOTE] i've heard in any elevator malfunction lying down is usually the best option [editline]9th June 2014[/editline] [QUOTE=AK'z;45037367]you'd still smash your head on impact[/QUOTE] no? the elevator was moving upwards

Cover your head please

Oh man, the visible panic the guy had, he must have thought it was a nightmare.

[QUOTE=genkaz92;45037376]I sort of get a feeling that elevators need to have some kind of an emergency system which shoots spikes or stopping metal plates out of the sides that rapidly collide with the walls of the shaft and suspend the elevator in place, regardless of the incident involving it crashing down or crashing upwards.[/QUOTE] This already exists. Elevators have been using them for decades. In the event of a power failure, brakes slam down on the guide rails and eventually it comes to a halt. The problem is the brakes are pretty much the only things providing the friction to keep it from moving. In this particular example, it looks like the brakes weren't triggering because of an electrical issue. Even if they had been functioning, it wouldn't have done much good since it was moving so quickly. Looks like a cable holding the counterweight gave out, causing it to plummet to the ground.

[QUOTE=haloguy234;45041024]This already exists. Elevators have been using them for decades. In the event of a power failure, brakes slam down on the guide rails and eventually it comes to a halt. The problem is the brakes are pretty much the only things providing the friction to keep it from moving. In this particular example, it looks like the brakes weren't triggering because of an electrical issue. Even if they had been functioning, it wouldn't have done much good since it was moving so quickly. Looks like a cable holding the counterweight gave out, [B]causing it to plummet to the ground[/B].[/QUOTE] Did you even watch the video? The elevator didn't plummet to the ground. It shot up until it hit the ceiling.

[QUOTE=Apache249;45041371]Did you even watch the video? The elevator didn't plummet to the ground. It shot up until it hit the ceiling.[/QUOTE] I didn't say the elevator went down. I said the counterweight did. The counterweight is not a part of the elevator cab. The counterweight operates on a pulley. When the counterweight goes down, the elevator goes up. That's why it's called a counterweight.

[QUOTE=haloguy234;45041384]I didn't say the elevator went down. I said the counterweight did. The counterweight is not a part of the elevator cab. The counterweight operates on a pulley. When the counterweight goes down, the elevator goes up. That's why it's called a counterweight.[/QUOTE] If the cable connected to the counterweight snapped, the car would plummet down, not up. [editline]9th June 2014[/editline] assuming no other safety measures are at play.

Yeah, you're right. I'm stupid.

[QUOTE=haloguy234;45041418]It depends on how the counterweight is attached and what pulley system is being used. Some have a system where the counterweight has both a bottom and a top cable. If this elevator was using something like that, and the bottom cable snapped, the counterweight would plummet since there is no suspension on the bottom keeping it in place.[/QUOTE] How would the bottom cable be propping up the counter weight? [editline]9th June 2014[/editline] Okay nevermind.

[QUOTE=Kondor;45040660] no? the elevator was moving upwards[/QUOTE] gravity exists you know? If you're shunted upwards at speed, you'll come down like a rock.

[QUOTE=urbanmonkey;45038117]I don't think it would make much of a difference. At 50mph, you're gonna hit the ceiling no matter what. The only advantage I can see it that hopefully you'll still be laying flat when you hit the ceiling, lessening the chance of your spine crumpling if you hit the ceiling head first standing vertically. It's just a miracle the impact didn't snap the rest of the cables sending the elevator back down 31 floors.[/QUOTE] Lying down would [I]slightly[/I] increase the time before he hit the ceiling (with about 0.1s), which would decrease his speed slightly (due to gravity and wind resistance). We're not talking a lot, but he'd be going at about 1m/s less than otherwise, which coupled with other factors might actually increase his chances by a tiny bit. I think there are too many other things at play here to say this would really matter, but still, being in this situation I would probably prefer lying down, if just to make sure my head isn't the one playing front bumper.

I hope he won't end up taking the elevator to heaven :(

[QUOTE=Zukriuchen;45037217]i wonder, would lying on the floor be the best option in this situation?[/QUOTE] I believe if you would get down into a bracing position with your feet slightly bent upwards, you could save yourself some damage.

[QUOTE=Zombie man70;45038350]Believe it or not the odds of this happening are about 2x more likely than the elevator falling to the ground.[/QUOTE] The counter weight usually weighs more than the cart, so it's more likely to "fall" upwards unless there's enough people inside the elevator cart. However, it's very unlikely that this would happen. There's a lot of safety measures on most elevators which prevents it from going too fast up or down, in order for this to happen a lot of things have to go wrong. You're probably far more likely to get hit by lightning on a dry summer day. Here, have an old video explaining elevator safety measures that was posted on reddit: [video=youtube;mkFmlyy1M8E]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkFmlyy1M8E[/video]

Oh God that's horrible You see him panicking the fuck out and mashing buttons and shit Poor guy

[QUOTE=GoDong-DK;45041576]Lying down would [I]slightly[/I] increase the time before he hit the ceiling (with about 0.1s), which would decrease his speed slightly (due to gravity and wind resistance). We're not talking a lot, but he'd be going at about 1m/s less than otherwise, which coupled with other factors might actually increase his chances by a tiny bit. I think there are too many other things at play here to say this would really matter, but still, being in this situation I would probably prefer lying down, if just to make sure my head isn't the one playing front bumper.[/QUOTE] Just because he hits later doesn't mean he's going slower, he's just farther away from the ceiling if he is laying down. If the elevator is going 50mph, assuming the elevator is 10ft tall, any effect gravity or air resistance (there is no wind inside an elevator) is negligible on his velocity. If you want to be technical, sure he would decrease is speed slightly since his instantaneous acceleration would be downward due to gravity, but in the split second before he hits the ceiling, he would have dropped maybe an in/s in velocity before he hit You're not wrong if you want to be super technical, but in all practical purposes, laying down won't have an effect on how hard his body is going to hit the ceiling

[quote]The man remains in a serious condition in hospital.[/quote] How the fuck did he survive the shock to begin with

shoulda done a handstand

[QUOTE]The impact reportedly left Acevedo with leg and head injuries, and though he's currently in stable condition in an intensive care unit, it's possible that damage to his spine sustained during the crash [b]may leave him unable to walk again[/b][/QUOTE] [url]http://www.complex.com/city-guide/2014/06/elevator-ascends-31-floors-in-15-seconds-leaving-man-seriously-injured[/url]