I don’t know about you, but I say a little prayer every time I step inside an elevator.
In today’s post, we will take a look at some elevator cables snapping and the not-so-glorious aftermath.
1. Barely Trained Elevator Boy
First, let’s see what happens when someone isn’t trained properly for their job.
In 1916, a Chicago shoe factory hired a young man to operate the elevator. He was given brief instructions on running it by one of the company’s extras and set to work.
When the elevator was nearing the 6th floor, the cable snapped, and it plummeted to the ground. Seven people died, and 14 were injured inside the elevator.
At the inquest, the company admitted that it was not in the habit of hiring experienced elevator operators. Instead, they said they preferred to “promote men from the lower-waged sections of the factory” to operate the elevators.
It was later reported that too many people were on the elevator for it to run properly.
Source: The day book. (Chicago, Ill.), 02 Dec. 1916.
2. Crushed at the Top
This is not to say that those who worked on the elevators in the past were untrained. On the contrary, accidents happened to even the most mechanical men. For example, in 1920, in New York City, a 45-year-old Ernest greased the elevator cables while standing on top of the elevator.
His 16-year-old son was inside the elevator, running the elevator upwards so that his father could grease the entire cable. But then his son somehow lost control of the elevator, and it went speeding up to the top of the building.
The fire department was called to help release the man’s body.
Source: The evening world. (New York, N.Y.), 06 May 1920.
3. Absolute Boss
Next, we find a 1957 story about a 23-year-old elevator mechanic’s helper. This young man was absolutely amazing.
Robert was working on the 17th floor when he opened the shaft door. He intended to turn on the light inside the elevator. Still, as he stepped into the darkness, there was nothing but space underfoot.
He dropped five floors before he could grab hold of the elevator cable. The friction burned his hands without mercy, but he managed to stop his fall. He then used his legs and feet to open a shaft door and swing himself back onto solid ground.
Source: The Petal paper. (Petal, Miss.), 28 Nov. 1957.
4. Fell 16 Stories and Lived
We find Peter, a carpenter, who fell 16 stories and lived to tell about it in yet another fantastic story.
It was in 1921, and Peter was working on a Broadway, New York skyscraper when he slipped on the scaffolding in the elevator shaft. He grabbed the elevator cable but could only hold onto it for 13 floors before his hands were completely raw, and he had to let go.
Luckily, he hit another scaffold plank protruding into the elevator shaft, which slowed his fall to the bottom.
It was reported that he reached the bottom of the shaft fully conscious and then went to the hospital to see if he sustained any further injuries.
Source: The Morgan County press. (Wartburg, Tenn.), 20 May 1921.
5. Elevator Rush Hour
Overcrowding in elevators was often a severe problem in the past. There are numerous articles in the papers about workers plummeting to the ground in overfilled elevators.
In New York, 1920, men on the tenth floor of a building were rushing to leave work and get home. Eighteen of them packed themselves into the elevator, but as it descended, the cable snapped, and the balancing weights crashed through the top of the car.
Sixteen men were injured in the crash, and it took the firemen nearly an hour of cutting away the remains of the elevator to reach the deceased.
Source: Alexandria gazette. (Alexandria, D.C.), 01 Sept. 1920.
6. Too Much Weight
William was the foreman of a crockery company in Nebraska, 1909. One day at work, he was on the freight elevator. One cask was loaded onto the elevator with him, and all was fine. Then a second cask was loaded on, and suddenly the cable gave way. The elevator landed with a crash three stories below.
William was unconscious. His arm was broken, and one of his ears was nearly torn off his head.
The newspaper article stated, “Prompt recovery from the injuries is expected.”
Yeah… no.
Source: Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]), 03 Oct. 1909.
7. Cement Cushion
Finally, I am going to end with a happier elevator cable accident.
At a construction site in Memphis, Tennessee, a 32-year-old worker was taking a wheelbarrow of fresh cement up to the top of a building. Suddenly, on the ninth floor, the cable snapped.
However, this quick-thinking worker flopped himself down on the wet cement and landed at the bottom of the shaft uninjured.
Source: The Nome nugget. (Nome, Alaska), 19 Oct. 1955.
