Posted on 01/23/2015 10:29:54 AM PST by Kaslin
On your list of worst nightmares, where does suddenly-plunging elevator rank?
If not number one, at least in the top five, right?
For Greta Van Susteren, that bad dream suddenly became reality as the car abruptly dropped four floors with no warning at all, then left her and several others trapped between levels with no way out. Lasting 10 frightening minutes, they were finally able to pry the doors open and crawl out.
Incidentally, if a lift is headed uncontrollably to the bottom, the best possible way to survive is to lie flat on the floor.
The incident happened in Hanoi as the Fox News Channel host, Reverend Franklin Graham and several charity workers were headed to the offices of Samaritans Purse.
Some of it was filmed, where at one point Reverend Graham quips “if it goes down, I’m going up”:
After escaping, they used the stairs, even though they were on the 24th floor.
Van Susteren later described what happened:
We had just reached the 24th floor when the elevator stopped for no apparent reason .then jerked and jerked and falling and jerking and falling and jerking until it stopped. We were all quite rattled as we did not know if it would continue to fall and we had no idea if the cable holding the elevator car was broken and if there were any back up system (this is an oldish building in Vietnam.)
One of us pulled the door apart only for all of us to see the worst just a solid cement wall. That was really bad news. Then the elevator car started to slip further down and of course we had no idea where that was headed I feared we were going to break loose and go all the way down which would have been a certain death for all of us. As the elevator car slid down, we made calls and tried pushing all the buttons on the panel.
Suddenly, one of our group noticed some light and pulled the doors open again and this time we had about a 2 foot crawl space. We made a mad scramble to get out and drop to the floor (the 24th). Franklin later told me he feared the elevator would drop again as one of us was getting out which would have meant a certain death for that person. We all made it safely out .walked up the steps to our original destination of floor 32 .and then when we left, none of us took the elevator. We walked down 32 flights.
Thankfully, everyone was unhurt, but the outcome could have been quite different.
Someone must have disabled the failsafe — there is a mechanical flywheel that is supposed to keep that from happening (I saw how it works on a Mythbusters episode).
Man, strange.
” When Communist Elevators turn on you”
Most (Western) elevators have a dynamic braking system that will not allow them to free-fall very far. In the Far East, that may or may not be true, especially if the building is old and/or someone has been paid off to “overlook” certain safety shortcomings ...
If I had to be in a falling elevator, I’d rather be with Franklin Graham than Annie Laurie Gaylor.
“The vast majority of Muslims reject falling elevators” - John Kerry.
Well played...
Imagine that - you go to a third-world Commie craphole and wonder why those things you take for granted in the first-world free market don’t work where you are.
That in itself was a dangerous move since someone crawling out could have been crushed if the elevator dropped again.........
A bunch of years ago, the wife of an employee at the company I worked for was in a local hospital. She was on a gurney, being transported to another floor and while she was being wheeled into the elevator, somehow it broke loose and crushed her when she was only half way in.......
Ten whole minutes. Oh, the humanity!
I had to look up to find out who she is, and I agree. So would I
In Vietnam, elevator takes you.
I looked up and saw panels that I thought could be removed - I was the smallest person in there not in a panic, so I figured the men could lift me up there. About then, it jerked and moved and jerked and moved until it got to a floor and we got out. I didn't use any elevator in that parking building again. You're likely to get help if the elevator is inside a building where people are, but in a parking building, there are no people around.
When stuck like that, the first thing to do is control your panic and look for a way out. Starting that action, reduces panic.
Otis, my man!
I got trapped in an elevator around floor 14 in SF for about 4 hours one time. 4 on the elevator: me, a lady, a flaming F and THE STATE ELEVATOR INSPECTOR who could not believe it took 4 hours to determine we were stuck....seems all the communication devices were either ignored or did not work. They finally cranked us down as we were in a no exit portion of the ride. So, ten minutes in commie land does not sound extreme to me.
Re the last part of your post: Panicking is never good
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