Published18. July 2024, 23:01
Laax G.R.It’s now clear how the LAX gondola accident happened
In January 2022, a gondola in Lax crashed into the tops of trees and even touched the ground because it was overloaded. The Swiss Safety Investigation Board has now published its final report.
Vaughan
In January 2022, an overloaded large gondola touched the ground at a point with a low clearance height at the Flims Laax GR ski area.
The cause of the incident is errors in idle load measurement and by operating personnel.
This has now been confirmed by the Swiss Security Investigation Board.
An incident occurred with an aerial cable car in the popular Flims Laax GR ski area on January 5, 2022. When a large gondola was carrying passengers and luggage upwards, it collided with the tops of some trees due to overload and even touched the ground. The gondola driver then pulled the emergency brake, causing several passengers to fall to the ground and a woman to slightly injure her finger.
But how did this happen? The Swiss Safety Investigation Board (SUST) investigated the matter.
The gondola was 2.9 tonnes too heavy
The SUST report published on Thursday shows that one of the causes of the incident was the overloading of the gondola. The allowable total load of 7.5 tonnes was exceeded by about 2.9 tonnes. According to the investigating body, “due to the overload, excessive slack in the rope caused the load bar to hit the tops of the trees and subsequently the ground.”
The experienced machinist, who had worked in the field for several winter seasons, made a mistake when calculating the load.
The load measuring device has been out of order for a month
Some technical aspects also contributed to the incident. The Swiss safety investigation board found that the load measuring device on the collided gondola had been disabled about a month before the accident – and this was not the first time. “The load measuring device has been affected by malfunctions several times before.” This resulted in the system sometimes being inactive for long periods of time.
In this regard, Sust criticises the lack of measures for permanent improvement of the facilities.
The cabin attendant had very little work experience
“Due to the lack of load measurements and weight displays on the cable car cabin display, the less experienced cabin attendant was unable to recognise the engineer’s incorrect calculations,” it continues.
The individual had taken up his position in this role only a few days earlier. The Swiss Safety Investigation Board therefore considers that he probably lacked the level of training and knowledge at that time.
Among other things, she recommends that the Laxer Bergbahn employ “sufficiently qualified operating staff” and improve the load measuring equipment so that it works reliably.
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