QR crew stuck in a lift for 3 hours
Agreed. I avoid run down elevators at run down airports…
If I got stuck in an elevator like that for hours I know I would get full support from my Dir Flt Ops and Chief Pilot for refusing to operate after. No worries about getting thrown under the bus.
If I got stuck in an elevator like that for hours I know I would get full support from my Dir Flt Ops and Chief Pilot for refusing to operate after. No worries about getting thrown under the bus.
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Up & dressed - what more do you want?
Posts: 35
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Left the 'cab' at Johannesburg tower on a break from working GND many many years ago. Got a coffee, had a bit of a rest and took the lift 'upstairs' to do a stint on TWR.......yep, halfway up the lift ground to a shuddering halt. Took several hours for the lift company to come out from the city centre to get it going again.
One of the most relaxing shifts I ever had....
One of the most relaxing shifts I ever had....
It was. As they said " If you don't understond the lingo , go back to yer ain cuntry!"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbDnxzrbxn4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbDnxzrbxn4
yours aye.
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Out of a bag
Posts: 657
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
There are no stairs to get to staff security at the moment. The airport will apprently be relying on 50pax capacity lifts to get people from check-in to new security. They removed the escalators to get up to the first floor.
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: aaa
Posts: 266
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
There are stairs, they're right next to the temporary lift they got stuck in
I remember someone getting airborne out of Birmingham with the bags of people who weren’t onboard. The people had passed through the gate and then got in the lift down to the air bridge. The lift stopped and the passengers got stuck, but as they had gone through the gate, and were nowhere to be seen, everyone assumed they were onboard. Flight departed without them!
Think they were stuck in there for a few hours, and the aircraft had to divert.
I always avoid the lifts at Birmingham.
Think they were stuck in there for a few hours, and the aircraft had to divert.
I always avoid the lifts at Birmingham.
In our wonderful country they probably had nobody on duty at the airport who knew how to operate the lifts, or wasn't allowed to because of insurance and safety. So they probably had to call out the manufacturer or whoever held the maintenance contract from home miles and miles away to drive in to release the people.
In our wonderful country they probably had nobody on duty at the airport who knew how to operate the lifts, or wasn't allowed to because of insurance and safety. So they probably had to call out the manufacturer or whoever held the maintenance contract from home miles and miles away to drive in to release the people.
The matter of releasing the occupants depends on the mode of failure. The vast majority merely require an electrical reset or moving the car to the nearest landing which can be achieved quickly, usually within a few minutes of arrival on site.
Occasionally the rescue takes longer and I know of one case where the fire brigade had to be tasked to build a ladder train several storeys down the shaft. Entry was effected to the car by cutting a hole in the roof. All this takes time to achieve in a manner which ensures the continuous safety of both those within the car and the personnel undertaking the rescue.
It takes as long as it takes to assess the situation, correctly determine the failure mode and formulate an effecient and safe form of rescue which prevents further distress to the car occupants. They may be elderly, infirm or children and not fluent in the local language. You really do not want to get it wrong.
On I go, day's work at the destination, flew back in the evening. Guess what, passed the Travelator, still stopped..
both Heathrow and Gatwick have a full shift of lift and escalator engineers on site 24/7
I was stuck in the lift at the Anchorage Hilton for an hour or two. A bunch screaming teenagers with me. The hotel engineer tried prying the door, which got it moving again, but soon stopped. I called the FD, who straightened things out promptly..
Unfortunately some people like to take advantage of a mishap to try and claim damages, sometimes up to five years later! This is the reason that every incident or accident has to be investigated and logged. The machine has to be carefully checked for any defects by a qualified engineer and the results recorded before the machine is restarted. Sometimes the machine is damaged during the incident and has to be fixed before returning to service. Too many times I have seen a user on an escalator with a huge case, (lifts are available) waving to their mate with one hand and busily texting on their phone with the other whilst doing a reasonable impression of a Meerkat trying to locate a shop or bar. They then take a tumble and try to blame the Airport.
From many years of experience as pax at LHR, I've come to the conclusion that there is some clever software somewhere to ensure that no matter where you are going to and from, there is always at least one moving walkway that isn't working. Maybe that's what the engineers are there for, to manage the software?
One occurred when working in a Pier on a Travellator on a Gatwick Arrivals side corridor at around 02:00. The Departures corridor is identical but one floor below for segregation. We were firmly berated by one passenger who declared that they had left Gatwick two weeks ago and the same machine we had out for inspection was inoperative when they left and still not working on their return. Apparantly we were not pulling our weight. We actually only had the machine out for an hour.
In the Europier feeder corridor at Terminal One, Heathrow there was a very long Travelator which was longer than the British Standard allowed without a gap in the handrail ballustrades. Therefore it had two handrails, a gap where the pallets submerged under a deck and two more handrails on the second stage. It crested a rise in the centre so you could not see one end from the other. We turned it off for inspection for a couple of hours and had several passengers complaining that "They have got two machines turned off, why can't one be left on, it's really inconsiderate" We soon gave up trying to explain and kept our heads down.
When I retired in 2000 there were over 300 escalators and travellators at Heathrow and sods law states one of the ones I use when flying since is out for one reason or another so I feel your pain.
