Whistler Lift Accident : Coroner's Report
Michael Barrett
Just heard the news: the Cooner's report on last December's Quicksiver lift accident has just been
released. Those of you who lurk at Le Bistro :
http://www.whistler.net/users/mbarrett/Bistro
may remember that I predicted they would conclude that folks were swinging the lift and it caused the
chair to relese. So far all I have heard from the report is that " the system of checks and balances"
failed (???) and that "a sudden stop caused the lift to bounce up and down and swing causing the grip to
release". Sounds like "user error" all right. I'll see if I can get the details and post it on the web
site. The local papers should be full of it this weekend.
BTW the new POMA gondola replacement for the Quicksilver looks good for opening on time. Have'nt seen a
cable yet but the cabins have arrived and the towers are up.
Michael
Millerlc
I worked at keystone at the summit house when the tellar lift fell in
85/86. If my memory serves me it was never determined why the bull wheel
fell off. Also i think there were "only" 2 fatalities.
can anyone update me on the Whistler Accident or if they remember more on
the keystone accident
best regards
Brad Miller
Miller Lodging Company
Private, No Smoking Vacation Properties throughout Summit County, Colorado
800-870-4754 mill...@aol.com mill...@earthlink.com
http://www.ewinc.com/mlc.html
John Bagnell
ChesterR wrote:
>
> Millerlc <mill...@aol.com> wrote in article
> <55bbqd$h...@newsbf02.news.aol.com>...
> > I worked at keystone at the summit house when the tellar lift fell in
> > 85/86. If my memory serves me it was never determined why the bull wheel
>
> > fell off. Also i think there were "only" 2 fatalities.
> >
> > can anyone update me on the Whistler Accident or if they remember more on
> > the keystone accident
> >
> whole
> thing out and installed a 6 person gondola(poma) in the same place. Its
> seems like that would be better for downloading anyway.
The coroners report is out on the Whistler accident. I think you will
find it at http://www.whistler.net The latest newsletter contained the
findings .
--
Ciao for now
John
"May you be a half hour in heaven before the devil knows your dead"
Steven Paul Kostur
Okay ... here are some details of the report ...
- the report is authored by coroner Peter Gordon
- lift involved: Quicksilver Express
- date: Dec 23, 1995; 3pm
- killed two (Trevor MacDonald at the scene, James Roche later from
medical complications)
- paralysed one (Mike Negraeff)
- injured others
- 18-page report; "underlying cause of the accident was systemic in
nature". Failures by the lift manufacturer, the ski resort, and
government regulators were attributed (eg. the lift did not meet code
or design specifications, the engineer who certified the lift also
worked for the manufacturer, inoperative safety alarm at the time of
the accident, insufficient knowledge by maintainence workers of
provincial standards)
- the accident occurred during "downloading" (skiiers riding "down" the
lift") the lift was accelerating when the emergency brake came on
and jerked the lift to a sudden stop. The chair were resultingly
bouncing up and down, and swinging back and forth. "The grip and the
hanger arm had insufficient swing clearance and resistance to vertical
forces" (this quote from the report). The chair carrying MacDonald, and
two other occupants detached, slid down the cable and slammed into the
next chair, creating a chain reaction. MacDonald's chair was the first to
fall.
- ASIDE: The Roche death is "interesting" in that he was released from
the hospital (after 12 days), then promptly died (his physician was
not available by phone, the morning of the day of his death he called
to report "tingling in his legs" and the call was not returned until
the next day).
--
-+H+-+H+-+H+-+H+-+H+-+H+-+H+-+H+-+H+-+H+-+H+-+H+-+H+-+H+-+H+-+H+-+H+-+H+-+H+-
Internet address: kos...@sfu.ca
John J. Solin
Here's the latest published report from the Vancouver Sun on 10/31.
Coroner Finds Fault in Quicksilver Accident
The B.C. coroner's service released a report on Oct. 30 saying that
the Quicksilver ski-lift accident on Whistler Mountain on Dec. 23 of
last year could have been avoided. A sudden emergency stop, due to a
miss-load, caused one chair to detach, slide down the cable and
collide with several in front of it, resulting in four chairs falling
to the ground. The accident left two people dead and another
paralysed.
The report found at fault, the lift manufacturer (Lift Engineering),
provincial government regulators (inspection branch) and Whistler
Mountain Ski Corporation.
Among other things Coroner Peter Gordon found:
a) that the lift did not meet all code and/or design specs.
b) the lift certification engineer also worked for the manufacturer.
c) a safety alarm was not operating on Dec. 23.
d) that there was inadequate attention to some areas in maintenance.
However, the government ministry responsible for ski lifts disputed
findings in the report, saying that those in charge of monitoring the
installation of the lift had been "thorough and diligent."
Whistler Mountain Ski Corp. president Doug Forseth stated that while
he found most of the findings in the report to be appropriate, he did
not "believe for a moment that it (the problem) could have been
easily identified", and noted that in the report most of the problems
were related to lift design.
As a result of the accident Whistler Mountain decided in April to
replace the Quicksilver. A new gondola is due to open at the
beginning of the current ski season. The new lift is not made by the
manufacturers of the Quicksilver.
Vancouver Sun: Oct.31
Whistler Question: Oct. 31
Michael Barrett <mbar...@wimsey.com> wrote in article
<3277C5...@wimsey.com>...