Leg lost in transit: Thai professor reveals investigation into escalator accident at Bangkok airport

[NanLaew]

6 hours ago, Gandtee said:

Who is writing this stuff? What is the proofreader doing?

Keeping you busy?

 

Next...

[mikeymike100]

3 hours ago, Smokey and the Bandit said:

Obviously is was meant to be sarcastic? And it was!

Quite some folks have no sense of humor! ????

[NanLaew]

The photos of the dismantled travelator accompanying the various stories show the detached wheel from the unfortunate victim's rolling suitcase. Yes the screws could have been worn and the non-steel combs loose, brittle and broken but users need to take precautions when using these things. With the advent of rolling, push-along (versus pull-along) cases being pushed ahead with one hand while watching their smartphone in the other... an accident waiting to happen just happened.

 

These airport people movers tend to be blocked by people who don't undretand what they are for in that they rush to get off the plane, get on the people mover... and stop walking. I avoid them at busy times for this precise reason.

 

I will now avoid these things totally.

[superal]

Hate to say this " but I told you so " along with many other posters on here .  The " suitcase wheel theory " was never to blame . The lack of daily inspections and regular scheduled maintenance could well play a part in this event .  It would be interesting to view the airports log books of all mechanical articles used within the airport detailing actions taken , replacement parts and N.D.T.  That is assuming that they have them. BTW any large western company would have insurance for such incidents but there would be a strict compliance of maintenance to ensure the insurance policy cover is upheld . In the west the buck stops at the top , hence the         C.E.O. takes great interest in health & safety to mitigate any chances of corporate manslaughter . But here on mars you can throw the rule book away .

[Purdey]

17 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Don Mueang International Airport

Off topic but didn't the authorities change the spelling to Don Muang several years ago? 

[wensiensheng]

Thai’s don’t do maintenance, full stop. 
 

there’s not enough margin in it to provide graft, hence budgets are always for purchases of new equipment/projects, never ongoing maintenance 

[richard_smith237]

7 minutes ago, superal said:

Hate to say this " but I told you so " along with many other posters on here .  The " suitcase wheel theory " was never to blame . The lack of daily inspections and regular scheduled maintenance could well play a part in this event .  It would be interesting to view the airports log books of all mechanical articles used within the airport detailing actions taken , replacement parts and N.D.T.  That is assuming that they have them. BTW any large western company would have insurance for such incidents but there would be a strict compliance of maintenance to ensure the insurance policy cover is upheld . In the west the buck stops at the top , hence the         C.E.O. takes great interest in health & safety to mitigate any chances of corporate manslaughter . But here on mars you can throw the rule book away .

Agreed.... So many fools have been trying to blame the wheels of a suitcase or even ridiculously the size of 'carry-on' as the cause of the incident rather than mechanical failure of something designed to carry 'tonnes' of people. 

[edwinchester]

7 hours ago, swm59nj said:

So it’s inspected regularly.  But no one noticed the loose bolts. 
It’s from 1987. How often is it actually inspected 

Thai inspections are different.

[Chongalulu]

2 hours ago, bignok said:

Walk around you see 95% staring at phones or computers. Zombie gen.

I think that may be what they do when seeing you approach.. ????

[bignok]

1 hour ago, Purdey said:

Off topic but didn't the authorities change the spelling to Don Muang several years ago? 

English translations are not precise.

[Chongalulu]

1 hour ago, NanLaew said:

will now avoid these things totally.

May I remind you of the road accident statistics..will you now avoid those too in the name of consistency..?

[richard_smith237]

1 hour ago, nchuckle said:

2 hours ago, NanLaew said:

will now avoid these things totally.

May I remind you of the road accident statistics..will you now avoid those too in the name of consistency..?

Only if you'll be reminded that using the roads are a necessity, using a walkway-travelator' is not....

 

Now.. in the name of consistency are you going to ask another silly question ??? 

 

[Chongalulu]

35 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

Only if you'll be reminded that using the roads are a necessity, using a walkway-travelator' is not....

 

Now.. in the name of consistency are you going to ask another silly question ??? 

 

You could only travel by train..or even not at all? Or do you really NEED to fly..?

Silly enough for you? ????

Or if really vexed by the need for a sensible question - statistically are you.ore likely to meet serious harm on a travelator or on the roads.. ????

[Mr Meeseeks]

5 hours ago, mikeymike100 said:

Quite, wouldn't they get engineers from the manufacturer or design company to look at this?

Wouldn't there be some kind of maintenance manual, that sets out what needs to checked at specific intervals etc?

As I posted on the other thread the airport authority should have a risk assessment for the terminal building, including failure mode effects analysis (FMEA) for all the equipment being used, including the travelators.

 

An FMEA is effectively an equipment specific risk assessment that identifies all the hazards of the equipment and how to reduce the risks of those hazards to as low as reasonably practicable. 

 

The FMEA, written by a competent person (that is not just any manager as Thais seem to believe), will identify the inspections and preventative maintenance required to avoid incidents such as this. It should reference OEM documents, international and national standards and guidelines etc. It must list all components that are likely to fail over time, and detail strategies to prevent this from happening.

 

Thus, a properly written FMEA surely would have identified these screws being checked, torqued, tested or replaced at periodic intervals.

 

The problem with equipment of this age, is that the original maintenance documents are often no longer available and so proper maintenance is not performed. An engineer then needs to be brought in to write an FMEA to ensure safety is maintained on the equipment.

 

Not to mention inspection and maintenance in Thailand, if performed at all, is usually just a box-ticking exercise. 

 

Proper supervision and management of such activities is rarely done here.

 

 

 

[Purdey]

3 hours ago, bignok said:

English translations are not precise.

Understand, but I am talking about the official spelling in English. 

[JensenZ]

8 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

As I understanding: 

 

1. Her leg was severely lacerated by the travelator plates to the point of partial amputation

2. First-aid teams made the decision to amputate as a life saving measure (risk bleeding out ?)

3. Dr's at Bumrungrad reattached the leg but it has been reported that they have stated it is unlikely she will ever regain use of the limb. 

 

Rehabilitation as soon as re-attachment is necessary to encourage blood flow.

I'm guessing walking may be possible although she'll have no feeling below the re-attachment and no muscular control.

 

There are many ways to understand it as there are many conflicting reports. Thanks for #3 - I had not read that one yet.

[JensenZ]

8 hours ago, NanLaew said:

 I will now avoid these things totally.

I'm trying to convince my wife not to be afraid of using escalators and travelators. If you consider how many serious accidents have occured on these world-wide, and specifically in Thailand vs how many people have ridden them, they are still one of if not the safest forms of transport.

 

 

 

 

[khunpin]

A Thai Professor? 

He dares to damage the good reputation of Thailand? 

The outcome will be ... the bolt had to be installed and maintened by a worker from Laos or Cambodia. 

Impossible that a Thai worker did not detect and call out that deficit. 

[brianthainess]

Oh come on " Leg lost in Transit" are you kidding me.

[radiochaser]

18 hours ago, Nicholas Paul KNIGHT said:

So it would appear that normal minimum maintenance was carried out by a person who is either not qualified or a complete idiot. Loose bolts means only one thing, POOR MAINTENANCE . 

Bolts loose due to having worn out threads is what I read.   

 

Worn out threads means the bolts were removed and replaced multiple time, or probably overtightened by not using a torque wrench, or were cross threaded one or more times.   

 

If the bolt threads were worn out, so were the threads in the holes the bolts were supposed to screw into.   

 

Objects that are connected by bolts with worn out threads and bolt holes with worn out threads are easy to find or diagnose.  You screw the bolt in and you can feel there is something wrong, unless you don't know what you are doing or have no mechanical understanding of what you are doing. 

 

Not just Thai people (yeah, there are those that will say that) but even in the U.S. I have watched people screw up (pun intended) screwing bolts into bolt holes and not know that they were doing it.  On occasion I have screwed the bolt screwing act up myself.  When it happens, almost every single time I can feel it happen.  At least I knew I had done it after the fact and was able to resolve the problem!

[Bepah umayun]

19 hours ago, newbee2022 said:

"Any volunteer's , want to lose a leg"

 

 

??? what does that mean ???

Do you mean: No volunteer wants to lose a leg? And where the volunteers are coming from? To test the escalator?

Do you mean: Nobody wants to lose a leg voluntarily? But even involuntarily people don't want to lose a leg, isn't it?

And why is it volunteer's ( with this apostrophe) ??

????????????

It's a matter of " loose bolts" , in all cases.

[tubber]

There is a video of the lady walking with the aid of a walking frame in a UK newspaper. It looks like she has lost her left leg from above the knee.

[Reigntax]

Reinactment!!!

They want to take her other leg now ?

[SiSePuede419]

On 7/7/2023 at 6:51 PM, snoop1130 said:

Weerachai stated that he suggested a reenactment of the incident to the airport authorities before having another two meetings.

Perhaps the "reenactor" should be the person who signed off that the escalator was inspected and found to be fully safe.

 

Sorry about your leg, Somchai. ????

[Caldera]

A maintenance issue then, of course, which they were all too quick to deny initially. 

[jacko45k]

On 7/8/2023 at 7:02 AM, Aussie999 said:

Weren't we told these escalators were checked EVERY day?

I suspect just checked if they were moving... and just maybe a quick look if any panels were missing,