Scrutable

shpalman wrote: ↑

Sun May 23, 2021 6:30 pm

It's 14 now.

What it sounds like, from news reports, is that the haul cable broke as the cabin was near the top of the run, so the cabin accelerated downhill, either hitting a pylon or anyway jumping off the support cable. There's a hydraulic braking system which is supposed to stop this, so it remains to be seen why it didn't work.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stresa-Mo ... r_disaster

Before dawn on Wednesday, investigators based in the nearby town of Verbania arrested three people involved in the operation of the cable car. Speaking outside her office, the chief prosecutor Olimpia Bossi told reporters that the “emergency brake system of the cable car that fell had been tampered with.”

Investigators said a malfunction in the system had been identified the previous month that caused the cable car to brake spontaneously, and to ensure that the service “could continue working,” a fork-shaped clamp had been placed on the brake to stop it from engaging. Resolving the malfunction would have required a more “radical intervention,” Ms. Bossi said.

The three are under investigation on suspicion of removing a safety device resulting in a disaster.

shpalman wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 16, 2021 6:00 pm

The TV news now has the cctv videos.

The cabin had almost reached the upper station, at which point the haul cable breaks (it seems it broke at the point at which it was joined to the cabin) and the cabin accelerates back down until it reaches the first pylon, at which point it jumps off the support cable and falls out of shot.

shpalman wrote: ↑

Thu Jun 17, 2021 8:38 pm

shpalman wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 16, 2021 6:00 pm

The TV news now has the cctv videos.

The cabin had almost reached the upper station, at which point the haul cable breaks (it seems it broke at the point at which it was joined to the cabin) and the cabin accelerates back down until it reaches the first pylon, at which point it jumps off the support cable and falls out of shot.

Italy's public broadcaster Rai has faced strong criticism for airing leaked CCTV footage of a fatal cable car crash that killed 14 people.

However, a cable car expert has alleged that earlier videos he took suggest the emergency brake was already disabled in 2014.