At First Glance this Sounds like a Hopeful and Promising Prospect!

But I've Read, -a Bit Ruefully, -that even if you Somehow Timed your Physical Jumpup Perfectly! To Jumping Just At or Before the Elevator's Final Impact Point, -Your so Doing in a High Rise Elevator Fall will at Most Only Reduce your 60 or so M.P.H. Speed by a Few M.P.H.! Still the Effect of a Speeding Car Running Head On into a Thick Concrete Wall!

Not Enough! And Not Enough to Make any Really Effective Difference! So that Idea is Unfortunately Something of a Non-Starter!

Oh you could Still Do It in Principle! And Out of your Still Present Will and Determination to Live! And Hit at Least a Little Less Hard! But Even There it would Make Practically No Difference! And There's Still the Matter of Neccessarily Perfect Timing!, -Something which you Aren't Likely to be Able to Accurately Guage!, -in any Event.

And to Boot!, -If you Misguage your Timing a Bit!, -You'd *ADD*!, -Not Subtract!, -Several Miles per Hour from your Final Impact Speed!

Elevators Falling from Far Smaller Heights May be a Good Bit More Hopeful! Whether or Not you Jump Up Inside, at the Appropriate Time!

Your Best Bet here, -or Indeed in any Falling Elevator Situation, -May Be to Get Yourself into the Best Crash Position as you Can! What Little to No Good that will Often Do you!, too!

Of course in the Rather Unlikely Event, -that you or Others there with you, -are Carrying a Sizeable Enuff Quantity of Blankets or Other Soft Materials, -You can Quickly Set Yourself On and About these, -as a Sort of Cushion! Even That may Often Only Do So Much Good!

I'm Afraid that this is Very Much to Entirely the Unfortunate Story!, -When it Comes to Finding Yourself Entrapped!, -in a Free Falling Elevator! [color:"black"] [/color] [email]ScottRezaLogan[/email]

You need to remember that your speed is relative to the earth, not the inside of the elevator. Momentum is based on speed. When you are falling you pick up a bit over 20mph per second that you are falling (at least for 6-7 seconds when air resistance starts to be an issue). So if you have fallen for 5 seconds you have gone about 400 feet (30+ stories) and are moving a bit over 100 mph.

How much speed you think you can get into a jump? Even if you could get youself up to 10 mph (which is unlikely), you still hit going 90 mph at the bottom.

With the possible exceptions of 9/11 and Oklahoma City, I doubt if anyone's been killed in a "falling elevator" since before the Second World War; my understanding is that all elevators must include a safety mechanism which will cause a free-falling elevator to jam in the shaft.

People have (rarely) been killed in elevator accidents, but mostly by being crushed between the doors or by stunting (riding on top of the elevator for cheap thrills).

The ones where people are crushed by the doors closing are a result (rant warning on - MHOO) of the general public using a safety mechanism as a general purpose convenience. Specifically, the automatic mechanism to prevent doors from closing if there's something or someone in the way, is used to prevent doors from closing if you're running to catch the elevator. The problem, of course, is that these mechanisms (at least, the older ones) were not designed for regular use and are liable to fail. Having experienced two such failures (and witnessing a colleague nearly lose her arm by trying to hold open a door that was intent on closing) I make it a rule never to stick any body part between two automatic doors that are closing. I use the "Open Door" button if I'm inside the elevator, and I may use a briefcase to stop the door from closing, but never my arm, leg, or torso. <img src="/images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" />

But I believe the "free-falling elevator" scenario is on a par with the "wings falling off the airplane" scenario.

well just after WW2 a B 25 bomber hit the empire state building, which cutted a elevators cable. Killing the elavator operator. But elavator cable failing is just like everyone else already said, to unlikely.

There´s a catch with the speed reduction. Even if your timing is perfect, your speed is reduced at the time of the impact of the elevator. You still have to drop to the floor. That drop gives you an opportunity to regain the lost speed (minus a neglectible amount for air resistance). Assuming a good position for the impact might be a good idea though.

"Modern" elevators have "parachute" mecanism (generally same kind of big claws) , which, like you said are designed to jam in the shaft and prevent an outright fall.


good thinking ..... every mecanism, even safety mecanism, can fail ....

I take the stairs. It's cheap aerobic exercise and putting one foot in front of the other still one of my lifetime's greatest achievements. Seriously, familiarise yourself with any building you enter; doorways, emergency equipment,stairwells, windows that are sealed or can be opened. Remember that most fatalities are from people stampeding and not the initiating threat. A recent archaeological investigation revealed the same phenomenon; rain,mud,sloping ground in a perfect funnel caused the defeat of the french at Agincourt and not Longbows. Every fatal fire reveals bodies stacked up at locked exits or trampled in narrow aisles. Elevators are the least of our concerns.

Man, I feel like I am back in freshman physics.

OK. Force equals mass times acceleration, see, and....... Oh, forget it. If you did jump, you will only be meeting the TOP of the cab all that much faster. <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

Elevators today, be they traction or hydraulic, have built in brakes. Even if the cables on a traction system are cut, they will stop. This has been the case since WWII, I believe. I'd have to go and look at the Elevator Code to be sure. (Yes, there is such a thing ? ASME a17.1)

People recently have been killed by elevators. Notice I said BY, and not IN. Mostly, they have been thrill-seekers or pranksters. Riding atop elevators ("elevator surfing"), exploring the elevator pit on a dare, or stopping the elevator between floors and opening the doors are simply tickets to the Darwin Awards, IMHO. I do recall an incident recently where an elevator broke down between floors. During the evacuation of the people inside, the cab?s brakes slipped and killed one of the occupants as he was climbing out. Sliced in half. Not pretty. <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> But, such incidents are very, very rare.

Now, let?s see if we can get some comments on what to do if you are trapped in an elevator. (Hint: that Spark-Lite won't be too handy?. <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> Though, a window squegee just might.)

?..CLIFF

Not so - the elevator operator, a woman, plunged with the car all the way to the bottom of the shaft, something like 900 feet, but the safety springs in the bottom cushioned the fall enough so that she survived.

Cliff:

A window squegee? For crying out loud, not all of us have Jay-Lo's assets!

A small body repair putty applicator will do fine, or as the Roman's did, have a few sea shells in your PSK.

Bountyhunter <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

And she didn't try jumping up and down? For shame - what a dreadful waste of a golden opportunity <img src="/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

"I believe the "free-falling elevator" scenario is on a par with the "wings falling off the airplane" scenario."
Unfortunatley I never majored in physics or maths, so I can't comment any further on lifts/velocity or impact speeds! However the quote above reminds me of a Fox clip during the Califonian fires of a year or so back, where the C130 tanker plane dropping water on the fire also managed to discard its wings on a flyover. Needless to say the crew perished.
I still have the clip on Mpeg....I know its a bit morbid, but I still find it amazing to watch.

On Related Elevator Safety Matters, -I've recently been in Elevators in Two Older Buildings around here, -(One a Municipal Building!), -that Had the Phone Cut Out of the Phone Box! Which you Normally See Inside an Elevator. I Wonder if there is a Law Against That!, -or Something!?

My City and Area has a Way of Being Like That! Shame Shame!, and All! It Comes Down to the Old Saying about Trying to Fight City Hall!

Maybe Check such Phone Boxes in your Own Area's Elevators! For General Preparedness, and at Least a Looksee! [color:"black"] [/color] [email]Chris Kavanaugh[/email]

A pilot I knew was killed flying his brand new homebuilt a few years ago when one of the wings broke in half during a steep turn on final approach. But he designed and built the plane himself and he screwed up on the design parameters.

In general, if the wings are going to fall off a plane, the pilot must have violently overstressed them. It does happen, but I believe usually the pilot has either flown into a thunderstorm or gotten into a death spiral and then overstressed the airframe trying to pull out.

I don't know what would cause a C130 to lose its wings during a water drop - possibly severe turbulence from the fire?

Probably the Combination of Extensive Maneouvering Done by the Aged Aircraft During the Waterdrop!

I've Seen that Film Clip myself on the Newscasts, -a Year or so Ago! That Wing(s) Really Came Off!

But Agreed, -That is Normally So Rare in the Aviation World! As to Vastly Be a Non-Factor!

Even Then!, -as You've Said, -It's Vastly a Matter of Extreme Stresses! / Load Factors! / Extreme Manouvers!, -Which Do Such! Put a One Ton Weight on a Typical Cardboard Box! And Don't Be Surprised if it Gets Smashed! Such Extreme and Extraordinary Aircraft Stresses and Load Factors!, -Are Like That Too!

I've Read in your Profile or Somewhere that you're a Pilot! Ansd So Well Know Anyway! [color:"black"] [/color] [email]aardwolfe[/email]

RE: Squeege - I know where THAT comes from:
On 9/11 (or was it the first WTC attack) there was a group of people stuck in one of the elevator cars - NO ONE had any gear, except the window guy - they got the doors to the car open, and used the back edge of his squeege to cut through the triple layer of sheet rock that made up the elevator shafts to get out

I personally would have used my 6" folding saw <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

If we are NOT talking a building collapse situation - JUST a stuck elevator (blackout etc), the main things I'd want is a cell phone, a flashlight, a bottle of water, and a candy bar/food bar.

I'm going from memory here, but I believe the preliminary NTSB finding was metal fatigue of a type peculiar to water bombers, which suddenly lose thousands of pounds of weight with each drop, combined with the stresses of the abrupt maneuvers they have to make to avoid becoming part of the mountainside. This is one reason the majority of the multi-engine water bombers were off-line for much of the last fire season, to do detailed inspections and to revamp maintenance procedures to spot this type of fatigue before it results in another needless tragedy.

Sorry, I seem to have misunderstood the need for a squegee as I thought we were talking about cleaning ones bottom after the call of mother nature #2 on the elevator, and I know the Roman's used sea shells for that.

Bountyhunter <img src="/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

This True Story Occurred During the 9-11 Attacks. (The *Second* Major WTC Attack. 2001 vs 1993).

To Make Matters More Dicey!, -in the Midst of their Extrication Process, -a Part of the Squeegie Fell Off, Falling Far Below! And they had to then Make Do with What Remained!

Were it Not For the Window Guy and his Squeegie, -I Think, as I Recall, that None would have Successfully Got Out in Time At All!

In Addition to the Items you mention, -in the Event of "Merely" being in a Stuck Elevator, -I would Add Having Something that you can Drill Hole with! Air is a Paramount Concern for me!, in any Stuck Elevator or Other Enclosure!

Perhaps some Closed Elevators Aren't Entirely Airtight. (Some Air perhaps Enters thru Cracks Etc, -in Some Elevators). But Others perhaps are Fully, -or at Least Largely and Effectively Airtight!

Those Several Executives and the Window Man, -Essentially did a Drill or Bore Out!

I Grant that since WW-2, -Elevators typically have a "Catch Mechanism", as some of you Describe. Thats All to the Well and Good! I was Somehow Thinking something like this, -that this could be SOP and the Case. Elevators are Quite Unlikely to Go Carreening to the Bottom in a Free Fall, -as a Result!

My Question though Addressed a Hypothetical "What If?!" By both the Things I've mentioned in my original Post, -and in Many of the Answers Others have Contributed, -It Looks like a Feeble Human Jump, -against the Backdrop of such a Larger, Total Fall! Will Do the One Attempting to Survive Such, -Essentially to Entirely No Good! With the Exception of Only Small Heights or Falls. Were That we Could! We Most Probably Cannot! [color:"black"] [/color] [email]kc2ixe[/email]

In another Hypothetical "What If?", -If Elevator Interiors had "Handholds" Inside, -One might be Able to Survive such a High Rise, Free Fall Drop! By Grabbing and Holding Firmly On to Such! And Keeping their Feet Elevated Up Off the Floor.

But at the Cost of Broken Wrists and/or Upper Arm Sockets! But One Could Perhaps thereby Survive! And Still Find Themself Alive!

Even if So, -This once again is a Hypothetical "What If?!" Scenario. Elevator Interiors of course, -Typically and Overwhelmingly Do *Not* Have Anything like Handholds! [color:"black"] [/color] [email]ScottRezaLogan[/email]

Elevators are not air tight. That is why your ears "pop" when riding up or down in a tall building. Also, all elevators since WWII have an access hatch in the ceiling, (Remove the ceiling panels. It's there), and most have an emergency telephone or intercom.

To me, the biggest problem in getting trapped in an elevator is... where to "go". When Mother Nature calls, you can refuse to answer only so many times. <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> Maybe those Zip-Loc bags we all carry round have other uses.......

.....CLIFF

i once got stuck in a elavator, so i pushed the alarm button for 5 sec like it's writen there.... nothing.... than movement ! with a snail pase it went all the way up and opened the doors there, there was 10 cm hight diffrence between the elevator door and the floor of the 19th floor. I took the stair to go down... with mine freaking bicyle on mine back ! Mine bicyle lights got damaged and stuff, not to mention my sholders.... i hate elavators <img src="/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />

Ah it's Good to Know there's a Hatch in the Ceiling! Not Surprised, -but Never Really Thot about that either. Thanks for Mentioning that they're Not Entirely Airtight either.

As to Emergency Phones or Intercom, -Good and Great! I've Long Known about them. But as I say in another Post in this Thread, -It's been my Experience in some Older Elevators and Buildings around here, in the Berg, -That such Phones have Actually Been Cut Out! Be it by Building Personnel or by Outside Vandals! I Can Pretty Surely Venture that there's a Law Against This! But my Town and Area Typically Does such Stuff! I Know Not What Percentage of Vators in Other Areas are Like This! Keep this Caution in Mind!, -and Check Your's Out! But my Area Sure Gots it's Few Plus! [color:"black"] [/color] [email]cliff[/email]