Inspection Detail

Inspection: 310378120 - W&H Properties

Inspection Information - Office: Manhattan Area Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 6:30 p.m. on October 18, 2009, an employee, Lobby Attendant, was working in the lobby and received a call on his radio from a coworker, a Porter, who said he was stuck at the eleventh floor inside Freight Elevator Number 3. The employee went up to the eleventh floor to assist. The coworker opened the elevator gate inside the car, then opened the hall door to the elevator shaft and jumped down the 5 ft to the eleventh floor lobby. With the elevator hall door opened, there was a 5 ft opening exposing the elevator shaft below the elevator car because the elevator was stuck at a level 5 ft above the eleventh floor. For some unknown reason, the employee then attempted to climb up into the car and as he was climbing, he fell underneath the car and into the shaft. It was assumed that he was attempting to get into the car to try to free up the car from where it was stuck. The employee fell as he was attempting to climb up into elevator car, which was stuck between the eleventh and twelfth floors and was positioned with the floor of the elevator 59 in. higher than the eleventh floor hallway floor. The employee was killed. After the accident, it was observed that there was paper jammed in the interlock switch of the inside security gate of the elevator car, which is a violation of elevator safety rules and allows the car to move with the gate open. The paper was not jammed tight enough to defeat the interlock switch, so the car would not move. The paper may have loosened just as the car reached the eleventh causing the car to get stuck at that level.

Keywords: EQUIPMENT FAILURE, JAMMED, FALL, ELEVATOR SHAFT