Broken suitcase wheel may have caused Don Mueang moving walkway incident

[richard_smith237]

2 hours ago, CLW said:

From this picture it looks like a combination of factors has caused this accident.

Maybe there were broken comb guards with some missing teeth that then caught a wheel of her luggage and jamming one moving metal step so wide off that her foot or leg was trapped in that gap. 

I'm wondering something like that too... 

Comb-guards already broken, caused the wheels to jam and get trapped forcing a larger gap into between the stationary end plate / 'broken guard' and the moving step/plate of the travelator into which her toes / ends of her feet got trapped and the rest of her leg was 'dragged in'....

 

Horrific....   There is CCTV all over the airports - was this event not actually captured ?

 

IS there any evidence that the comb-guard itself was missing / damaged  - perhaps from Airport CCTV of the area just before the incident ????

 

And... Don't these travelators (and escalators) have an auto-cut off should something become sufficiently jammed to cause the 'step - plate' gap to open ?  (I've no idea but someone implied this in another thread).

... IF so, was this marinated / or simply over-ridden ???

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 3, 2023 by richard_smith237

[Confuscious]

20 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

There is CCTV all over the airports - was this event not actually captured ?

There is actually a CCTV recording of the incident according the original first post.
But it has not been released to the public.

[richard_smith237]

1 minute ago, Confuscious said:

22 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

There is CCTV all over the airports - was this event not actually captured ?

There is actually a CCTV recording of the incident according the original first post.
But it has not been released to the public.

I can understand why it wouldn't be.... 

 

However, Thailand is not known for its 'data' security, its also known for its normalisation of what we my consider 'gore'.... so I would have expected such videos and images to have slipped the net by now, at the very least a couple of before / during 'snap-shots'.....

 

There either aren't any...  or someone is keeping a miraculously 'tight grip' on such images. 

[Confuscious]

26 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

There is CCTV all over the airports - was this event not actually captured ?

Surveillance camera clips show that a bag had hit the woman on the travelator causing her to fall which then led to her left leg being ripped off to the knee.
 

 

[Confuscious]

4 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

or someone is keeping a miraculously 'tight grip' on such images. 

Maybe that "someone" is keeping the CCTV recordings for the case this would endup in the court and the CCTV recordings proves that the lady was the cause of the incident?

 

[Dan O]

2 hours ago, edwinchester said:

Maths not a strongpoint of yours is it.

He's using Thai math 

[richard_smith237]

19 minutes ago, Confuscious said:

Maybe that "someone" is keeping the CCTV recordings for the case this would endup in the court and the CCTV recordings proves that the lady was the cause of the incident?

 

If it is even remotely feasible that a suitcase or someones accidental actions can 'cause' a 'perfectly operational, perfectly functioning, perfectly maintained' travelator to jam and open up and mangle a persons leg then I'd suggest travelators across the globe need to be taken out of action right now.... 

 

There is no possible way this is the woman's (injured parties) fault unless she was attacking the thing and forcing it open with a jack-hammer !!!!!! 

 

 

The 'maybe' you are suggesting is the polar opposite of the 'maybe' I suspect - that damning CCTV was very quickly quashed by fast acting senior airport staff. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Confuscious]

12 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

If it is even remotely feasible that a suitcase or someones accidental actions can 'cause' a 'perfectly operational, perfectly functioning, perfectly maintained' travelator to jam and open up and mangle a persons leg then I'd suggest travelators across the globe need to be taken out of action right now.... 

 

There is no possible way this is the woman's (injured parties) fault unless she was attacking the thing and forcing it open with a jack-hammer !!!!!! 

 

 

The 'maybe' you are suggesting is the polar opposite of the 'maybe' I suspect - that damning CCTV was very quickly quashed by fast acting senior airport staff. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There has several statistics been quoted about accidents with travelators/escalators.

Also the case a few weeks ago in China of a mother who died.

Machines are machines and accidents with machines happen worldwide.

And nobody gives a flying f.. k about your opinion to close every machine in the world.

[swm59nj]

Even it is was true.  This type of people mover should have certain protective features.  Falls and broken suitcase wheels are not a rare occurrence. 
And this apparatus was something like almost 40 years old?  Was this given any necessary upgrades during all those years?

[richard_smith237]

1 hour ago, Confuscious said:

There has several statistics been quoted about accidents with travelators/escalators.

In any of these 'several statistics' you mention (but fail to quote or source) - were the victims at fault ???? or was it design ?

 

I'm aware of a few cases where 'crocs' or very loose fitting rubbery shoes (for flip-flops) were caught (two additional cases in Don-Muang)....   

One where a childs 'croc' was caught at the side - the escalator did not have that 'protective' brush we see in the West on Escalators and Travelators (in the UK anyway) - poor design (and poor choice of footware)

Another just last week where a womans 'white-croc' was caught at the end of the travelator getting caught in the comb, she was luck to be un-injured after removing her foot in time.

 

1 hour ago, Confuscious said:

Also the case a few weeks ago in China of a mother who died.

That was 2015 - Xiang Liujuan died after falling into the top of the 'Chinese designed' escalator [Suzhou-based Shenlong Elevator Companty] after a plate was loose. Staff at the shopping mall were were aware of the issue but didn't stop the escalator. 

 

Did this also happen again a few weeks ago? I can't find anything in the news. 

 

 

1 hour ago, Confuscious said:

Machines are machines and accidents with machines happen worldwide.

Agreed, accidents happen....   

Was this an accident or was it negligence through lack of maintenance or poor travelator design ?

( 3 recent incidents at the travelators in Don Muang alone).

 

 

Peoples legs should not be getting 'dragged into' an escalator under any circumstance. 

 

Something failed massively and it wasn't the fault of an innocent member of public as you seem to imply in your earlier comment. 

 

 

1 hour ago, Confuscious said:

And nobody gives a flying f.. k about your opinion to close every machine in the world.

I think in your haste to have an argument and blame the victim you've missed the point - perhaps pull your neck back in a bit !!!... 

Edited July 3, 2023 by richard_smith237

[richard_smith237]

38 minutes ago, swm59nj said:

Even it is was true.  This type of people mover should have certain protective features.  Falls and broken suitcase wheels are not a rare occurrence. 
And this apparatus was something like almost 40 years old?  Was this given any necessary upgrades during all those years?

Agreed...  This escalator was reportedly installed 27 years ago, it has also been reported that the lifespan of such a piece of a equipment can easily be 40 years when well maintained. 

 

The begging questions  - Were there any necessary mechanical / engineering parts that needed upgrade but weren't ??? sensors and auto-kill switches that were not installed ?....  

... too much tollerance on key sensors preventing kill-switch activation ?... etc etc...

 

All laymens questions of course....   But, ones which experts / investigators should be asking instead of blaming a 'jeffing suitcase' for the loss of a leg at an airport of all places where the vast majority of passengers are going to be carrying what ????.....  Suitcases...  where ??? along travelators !!!!! 

 

 

 

[Confuscious]

53 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

Agreed...  This escalator was reportedly installed 27 years ago, it has also been reported that the lifespan of such a piece of a equipment can easily be 40 years when well maintained. 

 

The begging questions  - Were there any necessary mechanical / engineering parts that needed upgrade but weren't ??? sensors and auto-kill switches that were not installed ?....  

... too much tollerance on key sensors preventing kill-switch activation ?... etc etc...

 

All laymens questions of course....   But, ones which experts / investigators should be asking instead of blaming a 'jeffing suitcase' for the loss of a leg at an airport of all places where the vast majority of passengers are going to be carrying what ????.....  Suitcases...  where ??? along travelators !!!!! 

Please, stop whining about a lady losing her leg in a travelator.

There has been published in the travelator accident/incident thread 2 statistics about the many accidents that happened with travelators/escalators. Go look at it. I will not go back and copy the link for you again.  Have something better to do with my time as dancing for your stupidity.
Read what was written.

If you need to ask if there was a CCTV recording while it was CLEARLY written in the first report, something is really wrong with your reading skills.
English is not even my 3rd language and I did read it.

Also, it was CLEARLY written that the lady didn't lose her leg by the travelator.
It was a decision of the emergency team to CUT THE LEG OFF because that would give a better chance to reattach the leg.
Again, read the WHOLE thread.
If they would have dismantled the travelator, she might have still have her leg, but bleed to death.

Machines are causing accidents worldwide.
Some by the error of the operator, others by misusing the machine and others by simple accident.
People lose their toes in lawnmowers, people lose their fingers and limbs by mechanical saws, people die or get hurt by car accidents; etc.

Shall we abolish the use of every mechanical device until they are 100 safe to use like you propose?

If that is what you want, go ahead.

I will be driving my car tomorrow, use my water heater to shower, use my microwave to prepare my breakfast and go to The Mall to drink a coffee using the escalator and the lift.

This lady was at the wrong at the wrong moment and ended as a number on the statistics.
Maybe because she did something wrong in her past life and Buddha send the Kharma to her?

By the way, YOU ARE IN THAILAND.
Read my thread from yesterday about the decision of the court on the girl who throw her baby in the river and where so many ASEANNOW readers where given their opinion.
 

 

Edited July 3, 2023 by Confuscious
grammar

[tgw]

9 hours ago, Alex2554 said:

The combplate w/o comb Look at the gap, is it wide enough to jam a wheel, let alone a leg

yes it is, because the escalator segment gives way if there is enough resistance. something just needs to get angled in the small gap and it instantly widens.

[The Theory]

21 hours ago, webfact said:

the Engineering Institute of Thailand says inspections are ongoing, with no formal conclusion reached yet.

And there won't be one. ???? 
let's blame everything else possible, but "no regular inspection". 

[metisdead]

Inflammatory posts and replies have been removed. 

[bignok]

18 hours ago, rwill said:

Both of the comb guards that broke off have several missing teeth on them.  I guess the question is were they already missing?  I don't see any of the teeth laying around there but they may have fallen down inside.

You should never step near the edge

[Alex2554]

10 hours ago, tgw said:

yes it is, because the escalator segment gives way if there is enough resistance. something just needs to get angled in the small gap and it instantly widens.

No it isn't

Escalator segment moves on guide rails 

[Mr Derek]

Seems perfectly plausible in this case that the wheels shattered when hitting the comb and got jammed under it, causing a section to tip down enough momentarily for a leg to slip in.

 

The moral of this story is not to let your luggage slam into the end of the travelator but lift it or tip it gently (if it's a heavy bag) at the end so it runs off smoothly. That's the way I've always done it and it's pretty much common sense. They should put some safety instruction about this at the end of the travelators for the non-technically minded.

[sandyf]

On 7/3/2023 at 2:00 PM, proton said:

It will never be lack of maintenance to save money, or not replacing all the screws!

Obviously your approach would be to test all components to destruction before fitting them.

In the real world quality control is based on the laws of probability.

[proton]

4 minutes ago, sandyf said:

Obviously your approach would be to test all components to destruction before fitting them.

In the real world quality control is based on the laws of probability.

Also putting all the screws back in. Looked at local shopping centre today, metal runners missing off interior steps almost slipped down, elevator not working, again, and one escalator did have a screw missing on the end plate, made a point of looking at them. The land health and safety forgot.

[proton]

42 minutes ago, Mr Derek said:

Seems perfectly plausible in this case that the wheels shattered when hitting the comb and got jammed under it, causing a section to tip down enough momentarily for a leg to slip in.

 

The moral of this story is not to let your luggage slam into the end of the travelator but lift it or tip it gently (if it's a heavy bag) at the end so it runs off smoothly. That's the way I've always done it and it's pretty much common sense. They should put some safety instruction about this at the end of the travelators for the non-technically minded.

Was that case over sized for hand luggage? looks like it may have been and over 7kg

[BangkokReady]

On 7/3/2023 at 12:13 PM, webfact said:

The blame game has already started with the AoT director already trying to shift the blame on the manufacturers of the walkway (which was installed 27 years ago).

Very difficult to blame the manufacturers or installers of something that was installed so long ago.

 

Surely after just a few years it becomes that responsibility of the people who manage the safety and upkeep of the airport.  Or were the manufacturers meant to build something that would run safely for 30 years without maintenance or checking?

[arithai12]

8 hours ago, Mr Derek said:

Seems perfectly plausible in this case that the wheels shattered when hitting the comb and got jammed under it, causing a section to tip down enough momentarily for a leg to slip in.

 

The moral of this story is not to let your luggage slam into the end of the travelator but lift it or tip it gently (if it's a heavy bag) at the end so it runs off smoothly. That's the way I've always done it and it's pretty much common sense. They should put some safety instruction about this at the end of the travelators for the non-technically minded.

I remember that in Schiphol airport (AMS) there were constant announcements before the end of each travelator section. I usually hated them, now I understand.

[sandyf]

16 hours ago, proton said:

Also putting all the screws back in. Looked at local shopping centre today, metal runners missing off interior steps almost slipped down, elevator not working, again, and one escalator did have a screw missing on the end plate, made a point of looking at them. The land health and safety forgot.

One day the xenophobes on this forum will realise you cannot get western standards from the Thai GDP.

It should also be borne in mind that Thailand has not had the luxury of a protracted learning curve like the west, about 130 years in the US.

 

"The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) estimates an average of 6,000 people per year are injured on escalators. However, one of few studies on the topic gives a higher total. Published in the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Library of Medicine, the study notes that 10,000 escalator-related injuries per year require emergency care in the United States."

https://www.penneylawyers.com/elevator-and-escalator-accidents/10-interesting-facts-about-escalator-accidents/#:~:text=10%2C000 injuries require emergency care every year&text=Published in the National Institutes,care in the United States.