Italian cable car plunges to the ground, killing at least 9

[mystery-ak]

Italian cable car plunges to the ground, killing at least 9
Cable was last renovated in 2016 and only recently opened after COVID-19 lockdown
Associated Press

   A mountaintop cable car plunged to the ground in northern Italy on Sunday, killing at least nine people and sending two children to the hospital, authorities said.

A photo of the wreckage taken by Italy's fire squad showed the crushed and crumpled remains of the cable car in a clearing of a thick patch of pine trees near the summit of the Mottarone peak overlooking Lake Maggiore.

At that location, the cables of the ski lift were particularly high off the ground, said Walter Milan, spokesman for the Alpine rescue service. The cause has not been determined.

Milan noted that the cable line had been renovated in 2016 and had only recently reopened after coronavirus lockdowns forced the closures of ski lifts across Italy.



more
https://www.foxnews.com/world/italian-cable-car-plunge-deaths

[PeteS in CA]

One can tell whether a railroad section is much used by whether the rail tops are shiny (much used) or coated with rust (unused). I wonder whether the year of lack of used allowed the cables to deteriorate in a way that frequent use would have prevented.

[Victoria33]

@mystery-ak

Story: Bob and family (wife, one daughter, one son), were on a cable car in Austria.  His daughter was about 8 years old.  In the car with them was a newly wed couple.  Daughter said, "What happens when the string breaks?"  The newly wed wife grabbed her husband.  They came to a landing and would get on another car to go to the top of the mountain.  The only ones who took the new car to the top was Bob and his son who was about 10 years old.  Moral of story:  Be sure the string holding cars on rail is a strong string so it will not break.

[Smokin Joe]

One can tell whether a railroad section is much used by whether the rail tops are shiny (much used) or coated with rust (unused). I wonder whether the year of lack of used allowed the cables to deteriorate in a way that frequent use would have prevented.

I am not sure the cable failed (there are two cables visible above the cut, still strung), and no cable at the attachment point on the car. The lines in the foreground appear to be lines rigged by emergency crews to the car to stabilize the wreckage.

Need more info.

Amended to say: On further review there may be cable at the attachment point lost behind the arrow to image two on this browser, and in the trees. The other view is not good enough to tell, and shows three still strung cables, two of which are shiny.

Are these powered, running on the cable, or does the cable itself move with the car attached to it (fixed to the cable)?

[thackney]

I am not sure the cable failed (there are two cables visible above the cut, still strung), and no cable at the attachment point on the car. The lines in the foreground appear to be lines rigged by emergency crews to the car to stabilize the wreckage.

Need more info.

Amended to say: On further review there may be cable at the attachment point lost behind the arrow to image two on this browser, and in the trees. The other view is not good enough to tell, and shows three still strung cables, two of which are shiny.

Are these powered, running on the cable, or does the cable itself move with the car attached to it (fixed to the cable)?

Italy’s transport minister vowed Monday to establish the cause of a cable car disaster that killed 14 people, after the lead cable apparently snapped and the cabin careened back down the mountain until it came off the line and crashed to the ground....

...The mayor of Stresa, Marcella Severino, quoted witnesses as saying they heard a “loud hiss,” apparently when the lead cable snapped. She said the cabin reeled back down the line until it apparently hit a pylon and then plummeted to the ground. It rolled over two or three times before crashing into trees, she said.

It wasn’t immediately clear why a brake had not engaged....

https://apnews.com/article/world-news-europe-italy-middle-east-health-93e3487ca9dcae871e84601a80cbd496

- - - - - - - - - - -

...Initial reports said the towing cable failed at about 12:30 (10:30 GMT) as the gondola neared the end of its 20-minute journey to the top of the mountain from the resort town of Stresa. Nearby hikers heard a loud hiss before it crashed to the ground and rolled downhill into trees.

"The others [cables] are intact, but it is too early to say what happened from a technical point of view," local police commander Lt Col Giorgio Santacroce said, according to Ansa news agency.

"It will be necessary to understand why the safety devices have not been triggered, which should keep the cabin anchored," he added....

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-57226273

[Smokin Joe]

Italy’s transport minister vowed Monday to establish the cause of a cable car disaster that killed 14 people, after the lead cable apparently snapped and the cabin careened back down the mountain until it came off the line and crashed to the ground....

...The mayor of Stresa, Marcella Severino, quoted witnesses as saying they heard a “loud hiss,” apparently when the lead cable snapped. She said the cabin reeled back down the line until it apparently hit a pylon and then plummeted to the ground. It rolled over two or three times before crashing into trees, she said.

It wasn’t immediately clear why a brake had not engaged....

https://apnews.com/article/world-news-europe-italy-middle-east-health-93e3487ca9dcae871e84601a80cbd496

Thanks, @thackney That explains the still strung cables. That must have been a terrifying ride...

[Wingnut]

Thanks, @thackney That explains the still strung cables. That must have been a terrifying ride...

It's not the fall that kills you........

[PeteS in CA]

Safety brake on Italian cable car failed after line snapped - prosecutor

https://news.yahoo.com/safety-brake-italian-cable-car-144948338.html

STRESA, Italy (Reuters) - Investigators said on Monday their initial probe into a cable car disaster in northern Italy that killed 14 people would look into how the lead cable snapped and why a safety brake mechanism failed to activate.
...
Italian prosecutors have opened an investigation into suspected involuntary manslaughter and negligence.

  "We are starting from the empirical evidence. The cable sheared and the system of safety brakes clearly did not work," said public prosecutor Olimpia Bossi.

  Initial reports said the cable that was pulling the cabin up the slope snapped as the gondola neared the end of its 20-minute journey to the top of the Mottarone mountain.

  The braking mechanism on a second wire that was bearing the weight of the cabin failed to engage ...

[thackney]

Mottarone cable car, found another "fork" used to deactivate the brake. Three stopped in the night: "They admitted, they wanted to circumvent anomaly"
https://torino.repubblica.it/cronaca/2021/05/26/news/tragedia_della_funivia_3_arresti_nella_notte_anche_il_titolare_dell_impianto_nerini-302794992/?ref=RHTP-BH-I302794994-P1-S1-T1

The vice that kept the brakes open, the so-called " fork " had not been forgotten but had a specific function, that of circumventing a brake fault that had lasted for a month and a half. A criminal choice, also made at the cost of the life of 14 people, since that piece of red iron, which is used to keep the emergency brake clamps open, is in all probability the main cause of the crash of the cable car that connects Stresa at Mottarone.

On the cable car that crashed on Sunday there were two brakes, and as many forks improperly inserted so as not to trigger the automatic lock. The first was still found in its place by the investigators, the second was found this morning next to the cabin, perhaps blown away due to the impact.

The presence of both devices is further proof, if more proof were needed, of the will to turn off the brakes of the cable car: a " deliberate and fully aware - said this morning the prosecutor Verbania, Olimpia Bossi - It was not dealt with an occasional omission or an oversight, but the precise choice of deactivating this emergency system to remedy the technical problems that were occurring on the line, due to a malfunction of the emergency braking system. he could do his runs without problems ".

via google translate....

[mystery-ak]

3 arrested in Italy cable car crash; clamp deactivated brake
14 killed in northern Italy disaster
https://www.foxnews.com/world/arrested-italy-funicular-crash-clamp-deactivated-brake

[thackney]

3 arrested in Italy cable car crash; clamp deactivated brake
14 killed in northern Italy disaster
https://www.foxnews.com/world/arrested-italy-funicular-crash-clamp-deactivated-brake

...Bossi said it still wasn't clear why the lead cable broke or whether it was related to the brake problem. But she said that the intentional deactivation of the brake, done several times over recent weeks for a persistent problem, prevented the brake from doing its job when the cable snapped...

I will guess the snapping cable was related to choosing not to keep up with maintenance.