NOTE: I REPORTED AN ESCALTOR MALFUNCTION IN NEVADA AROUND 30 DAYS AGO ON ANOTHER BOARD...WILL TRY TO FIND THE STORY.

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http://www.silive.com/news/advance/0310esc10.html

Escalator malfunction at Whitehall terminal injures Islander, 82

St. George man scraped and bruised when handrail stops moving with steps in ferry facility

March 10, 2000

A malfunction on an escalator in the Manhattan Whitehall ferry terminal left an elderly St. George man scraped and bruised Wednesday night after he fell backwards when the handrail stopped moving with the steps, witnesses said. The escalator was taken out of service.

Jack Larson, director of ferry operations and deputy commissioner for the city Department of Transportation (DOT), which runs the ferry, said he was in the terminal inspecting the facility when the incident occurred around 9:15 p.m.

The Rev. John Pintabone of Assumption R.C. Church, New Brighton, was on the escalator with the 82-year-old man when the handrail stopped. Father Pintabone said the man fell backwards onto him, and as he tried to hold the man up, he lost his balance and fell onto his back.

"I must have fallen about six steps, flipped around and landed on my back," Father Pintabone said. "It happened so quickly. I don't think I've ever been that terrified in my life."

Larson said he heard the commotion on the west-side escalator and ran to it with the chief of the Whitehall terminal, who flipped the emergency stop switch at the top of the escalator. Larson said there were about 15 people on the escalator at the time, and that Pintabone and the elderly man were toward the top portion of the escalator when they fell.

When Emergency Medical Service personnel arrived, Larson said the elderly man resisted going to the hospital but then went into shock. He was taken to New York Downtown Hospital, where he was treated for minor injuries and released.

Father Pintabone accompanied the man to the hospital and returned with him to Staten Island, both boarding the 1:30 a.m. boat. By that time, he said, neither escalator was working.

"It could have been a lot more serious than it was," Father Pintabone said.

Larson said workers were out early yesterday morning, repairing the out-of-service east-side escalator with good parts taken from the disabled west-side escalator. The east-side escalator was running by the afternoon rush.

While it's not all that common for the handrail to stop moving, Larson said, it is one of the things that can go wrong with an escalator and creates an optical illusion that the rail is moving in the opposite direction of the steps.

The escalators at the outdated terminal are frequently out of service and have caused riders problems for years. Neither, however, will be replaced anytime soon, since the city is planning to begin construction on a brand new Whitehall terminal sometime this fall, a full year after officials originally said construction would begin.

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-- (Dee360Degree@aol.com), March 11, 2000

Answers

Here are the stories from the other escalator malfunction in Nevada:

Las Vegas SUN: Airport visitors injured on escalator

Las Vegas SUN: Cause of airport escalator failure remains unknown

Las Vegas SUN: Faulty gear box caused escalator collapse

-- (Dee360Degree@aol.com), March 12, 2000.