Would they differ though? I don't think the lift manufacturer sells one lift with the gold package of safety systems and the other the bronze package because if something like this happens, they're gonna get sued no matter what. Besides, if 20 years down the road the chair gets sold and it doesn't have all of the safety systems, they're still going to have to take a hit.
The big question is whether or not the lift was modified in the field for some purpose or the checklists that are supposed to happen each day to check out the mechanics of it were done.
I know the lift is very different than what is sold in the US which means there may be some difference in safety systems.
I've been meaning to ask the lifties at Wildcat where there is a big sign saying that this lift can be run in reverse. So why it ever be run n reverse?
Many lifts have that sign. When I worked at Copper I remember that they would run lifts in reverse to take chairs on/off the line and the to fix spacing issues.
I've been meaning to ask the lifties at Wildcat where there is a big sign saying that this lift can be run in reverse. So why it ever be run n reverse?
Many lifts have that sign. When I worked at Copper I remember that they would run lifts in reverse to take chairs on/off the line and the to fix spacing issues.
Wow that was some bad grammar & spelling on my part... Ok spacing makes sense. Just putting cabins on I don't think they'd have to tell anyone.
ISNE-I Skied New England | NESAP-the New England Ski Area Project | SOSA-Saving Our Ski Areas - Location SW of Boston MA
It doesn't run in reverse with people on the chairs. With the cabins on it can run in reverse if some sort of evac is needed. Or grandma could not unload at the base from the leaf peep ride.
“Unfortunately, according to the current conclusion, the operator made a mistake. The combination of the actions that he should have had carried out were not implemented in compliance with the relevant instructions – it was a human error.”
I am not sure I buy this lock, stock and barrel. There has to be fail safe things built into the system to keep the chairs from rolling back in case of a power failure, right? I'm not a liftie but I assume that the roll back brakes operate outside of human control as I think running in reverse must involve a lot of steps first before it can be initiated.
I've been told lifts built in Europe and Asia require fewer safeties to prevent rollbacks. They certainly have rollback detection and rollback brakes but anti rollback dawgs, one-way bearing and one-way gearboxes aren't as common.
The story I get from reading the press release is the electric power failed and the lift stopped. The operator was trying to resume forward operation using either a diesel or gas engine and they failed to follow proper procedure and the lift rolled back.
The normal procedure to run the lift with a simple manually operated diesel-hydraulic drive is to (1.) manually pump up the emergency and rollback brakes. (2.) Engage the hydraulic controls to drive the lift and (3.) almost at the same instant begin pumping the service brake open.
What could've happened is the operator opened all the brakes before driving the lift forward with the diesel-hydraulics and the lift rolled back.
The normal procedure to run the lift with a simple manually operated diesel-hydraulic drive is to (1.) manually pump up the emergency and rollback brakes. (2.) Engage the hydraulic controls to drive the lift and (3.) almost at the same instant begin pumping the service brake open.
Does it take a manually operated brake to stop this? Is there some kind of auto roll back device like a self- camming device in case of operator inability, or is that optional?
"Making ski films is being irresponsible with other people's money, in a responsible sort of way..." <div>Greg Stump</div>
I don't know about know, but the older Borvigs would have a sensor. The lift wouldn't start until the anti roll brake was pumped manually. Now in a power failure, if you started the drive on diesel motors, I don't know if this would kick in. So if, and I say if, this this kind of thing as operator failure I could see it happen. A lift mechanic would know more. It's been a while and my memory may be off.
No matter what happened, thank god no one got killed. Lesson learned-- dump skis when rolling back, execute parachute landing fall when close to ground and get the heck out of the way for the next chair coming down.
"Making ski films is being irresponsible with other people's money, in a responsible sort of way..." <div>Greg Stump</div>
Comments
I know the lift is very different than what is sold in the US which means there may be some difference in safety systems.
I've been told lifts built in Europe and Asia require fewer safeties to prevent rollbacks. They certainly have rollback detection and rollback brakes but anti rollback dawgs, one-way bearing and one-way gearboxes aren't as common.
The story I get from reading the press release is the electric power failed and the lift stopped. The operator was trying to resume forward operation using either a diesel or gas engine and they failed to follow proper procedure and the lift rolled back.
The normal procedure to run the lift with a simple manually operated diesel-hydraulic drive is to (1.) manually pump up the emergency and rollback brakes. (2.) Engage the hydraulic controls to drive the lift and (3.) almost at the same instant begin pumping the service brake open.
What could've happened is the operator opened all the brakes before driving the lift forward with the diesel-hydraulics and the lift rolled back.