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Solden Gondola Accident



 
 
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  #1  
Old September 6th 05, 11:23 AM
MoonMan
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Default Solden Gondola Accident

I'm not sure I can believe the reports how accurate/unlucky can you be to
hit a gondola cable when dropping a 1,650lb lump of concrete from a
helicopter?

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/06/in...06austria.html


--
Chris *:-)

Downhill Good, Uphill BAD!

www.suffolkvikings.org.uk


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  #2  
Old September 6th 05, 07:57 PM
Ivan
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It's a very unfortunate accident.

Most of the victims are children from a german ski club.

An electro engineer from Baden-Württemberg suggests, that electromagnetic
induction, from the lift cables, may have caused the magnetic lockers,
seuring the cargo, to unlock.

The same lift was hit by a derailing accident in november 2004, caused by
strong winds.

It's in the same spot, the snowboard and skiing worldcup opening will take
place in week 41 and 42.



"MoonMan" skrev i en meddelelse
...
I'm not sure I can believe the reports how accurate/unlucky can you be to
hit a gondola cable when dropping a 1,650lb lump of concrete from a
helicopter?

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/06/in...06austria.html


--
Chris *:-)

Downhill Good, Uphill BAD!

www.suffolkvikings.org.uk



  #3  
Old September 7th 05, 09:15 AM
MoonMan
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Ivan wrote:
It's a very unfortunate accident.

Most of the victims are children from a german ski club.

An electro engineer from Baden-Württemberg suggests, that
electromagnetic induction, from the lift cables, may have caused the
magnetic lockers, seuring the cargo, to unlock.

The same lift was hit by a derailing accident in november 2004,
caused by strong winds.

It's in the same spot, the snowboard and skiing worldcup opening will
take place in week 41 and 42.


I did wonder how a gondola managed to come off the cable, and for that
matter how people where "thrown out" of a modern gondola, but after thinking
about the families of the victims, I still wonder what the probability of
hitting a cable with a lump of concrete is?

Chris


  #4  
Old September 7th 05, 09:44 AM
Brian McIlwrath
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MoonMan wrote:

: I did wonder how a gondola managed to come off the cable, and for that
: matter how people where "thrown out" of a modern gondola, but after thinking
: about the families of the victims, I still wonder what the probability of
: hitting a cable with a lump of concrete is?

My reading of the BBC News item suggest that the lump of concrete hit a cabin
and knocked it off the wire. Then the nearest other gondolas - while remaining
attached - swung so violently that people were thrown out!

Still seems crazy to fly directly over the gondolas and not just to one side!
  #5  
Old September 7th 05, 09:59 AM
Turan Fettahoglu
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Still seems crazy to fly directly over the gondolas and not just to one
side!


What if the helicopter had to cross the cable car wires? Before this
accident, anybody would have said, "this won't happen, it is a
one-in-a-million chance." If the pilot had been ordered to drop the concrete
onto a cable car for some reason, he would have needed many attempts.

I bet that helicopters frequently cross cable car wires in winter, mostly
when they fly out a sick skier after an accident. Nobody cares.

Even a Boeing 747 might fly high above the cables and you would not even
notice - until it crashes.

Turan

  #6  
Old September 7th 05, 10:14 AM
Alex Heney
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On Wed, 7 Sep 2005 09:44:21 +0000 (UTC), Brian McIlwrath
wrote:

MoonMan wrote:

: I did wonder how a gondola managed to come off the cable, and for that
: matter how people where "thrown out" of a modern gondola, but after thinking
: about the families of the victims, I still wonder what the probability of
: hitting a cable with a lump of concrete is?

My reading of the BBC News item suggest that the lump of concrete hit a cabin
and knocked it off the wire. Then the nearest other gondolas - while remaining
attached - swung so violently that people were thrown out!

Still seems crazy to fly directly over the gondolas and not just to one side!


But if the line it is taking is across the line of the cable, that
would require a significant detour.

And helicopters carrying loads fly over other populated structures all
the time, usually without problems.

This really was an incredibly unlikely chance, even if the pilot was
aware his load was insecure.
--
Alex Heney, Global Villager
I may not be perfect, but parts of me are excellent.
To reply by email, my address is alexATheneyDOTplusDOTcom
  #7  
Old September 7th 05, 10:21 AM
MoonMan
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Brian McIlwrath wrote:
MoonMan wrote:

I did wonder how a gondola managed to come off the cable, and for
that matter how people where "thrown out" of a modern gondola, but
after thinking about the families of the victims, I still wonder
what the probability of hitting a cable with a lump of concrete is?


My reading of the BBC News item suggest that the lump of concrete hit
a cabin and knocked it off the wire. Then the nearest other gondolas
- while remaining attached - swung so violently that people were
thrown out!

Still seems crazy to fly directly over the gondolas and not just to
one side!


The NYT Article implied that the block hit the cable not a gondola.


--
Chris *:-)

Downhill Good, Uphill BAD!

www.suffolkvikings.org.uk


  #8  
Old September 7th 05, 02:57 PM
Adrian D. Shaw
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Felly sgrifennodd Turan Fettahoglu Turan.Fe@invalid:
What if the helicopter had to cross the cable car wires? Before this
accident, anybody would have said, "this won't happen, it is a
one-in-a-million chance."


Precisely. How many helicopters have flown over cable car/gondola lines since
the last time this happened? Probably more than a million.

Adrian

--
Adrian Shaw ais@
Adran Cyfrifiadureg, Prifysgol Cymru, aber.
Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Cymru ac.
http://users.aber.ac.uk/ais uk
 




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