Miguel A. Lopes / Lusa
According to a report released on Saturday, which reports the chronology of the accident, the cable that united the booths of the Glory Elevator “gave in the point of fixation” of the carriage that deracted. The goalkeeper fired the brakes to try to sustain the descent movement, which happened at 60 km/h for 50 seconds.
Do Study done to wreckage at the venue of the Glory Elevator by the Office for Prevention and Investigation of Accidents with Aircraft and Railroad Accidents (GPIAAF), “it was immediately found that the Cabo that unia as duas cabins gave in to its fixing point inside the trambolhothe upper fitting part of cab number 1 ”.
The conclusion was presented this Saturday in an informative note released by the body, to which the Lusa agency had access.
According to the investigation, “The remaining cable” and the entire systemsuch as “the inversion steering wheel and the pulleys where it develops its route, they were lubricated and no apparent anomalies ”.
The note adds that “the cable in the upper stroke of cabin No. 2, which was by the Praça dos Restauradores, was also without anomalies apparent ”.
The cable used is consisting of six strings of 36 steel wires with soul in fiber, with a total nominal diameter of 32 mm (mm) and a rupture load approximately 68 tonsthis type of cable used in this lift for about six years, explains the GPIAAF note
“Has fixed a shelf life of 600 days For this use and that existing at the time of the accident had been installed 337 days agostill having a shelf life of 263 days until its replacement. It is considered by the system operator that the defined life life has a significant security coefficient”The GPIAAF note highlights.
As to maintenance and conservation of the system of the lift of glory, the investigation states that “it is contractualized by the operator, Carristo a external company to provide specialized serviceswhose terms of the existing contract define that it is up to the first to supply the cables and the second its installation under the inspection of the first. ”
GPIAAF also found that “the lift It is not in the power of supervision of the Institute of Mobility and Transport ”.
Guarde
The elevator guard who derails triggered the automatic brakes and manual for try to sustain the descent movement of the vehicle, but these actions did not have an effectand the carriage remained accelerated until derailed, 170 meters later.
GPIAAF estimates that the clash of the Glory Elevator Carriage in Lisbon against a building occurred “a 60 km/h speed and that the whole event has “elapsed in a time of less than 50 seconds”.
The Elevator of Glory travels 276 meters, wins a 45 meter gapwith an average inclination of 18%, being the “maximum operation speed” of 11.5 kilometers hour, leading just over a minute to take the route, highlights the GPIAF informative note.
Consists of Two vehicles, designated by “cabins” and numbered 1 and 2, each with about 14 tons of tare and capacity for 42 people22 of which are sitting and the rest standing, in addition to the driver (‘boader’).
The lift of glory, classified as national monumentin its current typology and configuration, 1914although it has been subject to various conservation and benefit interventions over these 111 years, as well as periodic maintenance defined for each moment.
Accident chronology
According to GPIAAF, at 18:00 on WednesdaySeptember 3, the lift was with its booths parked on both stations: paragraph 1 at the top of Calçada da Glória and paragraph 2 below, next to Praça dos Restauradores, receiving passengers.
The note adds that “at this time of investigation is not yet unequivocally determined What was the exact number of people in each vehiclewhere Guardianship control the capacity according to the maximum allowed capacity ”.
GPIAAF says that “around 18:03, after the normal coordination procedures between the respective headquarters, The cabins start your trip”.
“A few moments after the start of the movement And when they would not have traveled more than six meters, the cabins suddenly lose their strength of equilibrium guaranteed by the connecting cable that unites them, ”explains this body.
According to GPIAAF, “Cabin No. 2 retreats sharplyits movement is sustained about 10 meters later by its partial exit beyond the end of the flower way and burial of the lower side at the end of the cable ditch. ”
“Cabin No. 1, at the top of the sidewalk of glory, continues its descendant movement by increasing its speed. Immediately, the vehicle’s goalkeeper called the pneumatic brake as well as the manual brake in order to try to sustain the movement. These actions had no effect In sustaining or reducing the speed of the vehicle and the cabin continued to accelerate by the slope, ”says the investigation.
Nearly 170 meters after the beginning of your routeat the beginning of the right curve that the sidewalk alignment presents in its final part, “the vehicle, due to speed, Decarrillas and starts to fall to the left in the sense of the march ”.
“However, the developed forces eventually pull the floor and the vehicle fully loses the guide, clashing laterally the upper part of the booth on the wall of the existing building on the left side of the sidewalk, which started Destruction of the wooden boxand then frontally against a public lighting pole and one support from the rise of the rise, ”reads at Ni.
GPIAAF says that “the two poles, both in cast iron, caused damage very significant in the box, ”adding that the cabin ended“ shortly thereafter uncontrolled movement against the corner of another building”.
