KevinAllen 0 #1 April 14, 2012 Has anyone heard of a motor falling in a tunnel? Heard a rumor but no details. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hub1100 0 #2 April 14, 2012 QuoteHas anyone heard of a motor falling in a tunnel? Heard a rumor but no details. What is your source ?Anyone can swim, only a few swim well. Anyone can skydive, everyone can skydive well. Practice! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bart 0 #3 April 14, 2012 I've heard it to... from someone who was in the states recently in the area of said tunnel. Also heard that someone was flying in the tunnel and had just got out of the flight chamber before the fan fell and went through the net!!! Would be an interesting story if it was true. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
diablopilot 2 #4 April 15, 2012 Wouldn't be the first time.---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy9o8 2 #6 April 15, 2012 I keep tellin' em they can't just hand-tighten the lug nuts. But do they listen? Noooooo.. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
devildog 0 #7 April 16, 2012 If you're talking Orlando, not sure about the motor part, but I know someone that works there (long time friends since middle school) and they were saying the fan actually detached and went flying through a bunch of stuff. Specifics on how that happened, I don't know.You stop breathing for a few minutes and everyone jumps to conclusions. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BigBUG 0 #8 April 17, 2012 This is probably the only thisg that scares me as a engineer while I thinking about WT safety. But I never expected that the whole fan could be detached - I was thinking about destruction of the fan for some reason (stress issues, vibration, strange object hitting the fan) and parts of fan flying away like projectiles. Any details will be greately appreciated. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nigel99 466 #9 April 17, 2012 QuoteThis is probably the only thisg that scares me as a engineer while I thinking about WT safety. But I never expected that the whole fan could be detached - I was thinking about destruction of the fan for some reason (stress issues, vibration, strange object hitting the fan) and parts of fan flying away like projectiles. Any details will be greately appreciated. Well if it did happen it smells of poor preventative maintenance. Assuming the fans are made of metal and not some composite, metal fatigue and ageing are pretty well understood and methods of testing are well established.Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
devildog 0 #10 April 17, 2012 Well, I should probably qualify that the person who told me embellishes at times, though they sounded shaken up & sincere at the time, and looking back, they probably weren't looking to give me a sworn statement. So, if the motors above, maybe it went through the fan and took it out? Or just some blades went flying as it came apart? Not sure, other than the fan had some sort of catastrophic failure and went to pieces according to their story. That's really all I can say as I don't know anything else.You stop breathing for a few minutes and everyone jumps to conclusions. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
manseman 0 #11 April 17, 2012 QuoteHas anyone heard of a motor falling in a tunnel? Heard a rumor but no details. Not really a motor failure, but I was preparing for my turn inside the Bedford tunnel sometime in the spring of 2009 when there was a massive power outage (all over that part of the country, not just the tunnel) and everything just died. Luckily, the three guys inside were on their bellies very close to the net. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DeNReN 0 #12 April 17, 2012 Just called the Orlando tunnel as we have time booked this coming fri and sat...I was informed they are up and running. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BigBUG 0 #13 April 18, 2012 As far as I know, even in case of sudden and complete stop of the motor, the fan should stop gradually. There should be overruning clutch, I believe (sorry it may be wrong word, I have very limied practice in English :) )? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnRich 4 #14 April 18, 2012 QuoteThis is probably the only thisg that scares me as a engineer while I thinking about WT safety. It seems like there should be daily or weekly inspections for cracks and loose nuts & bolts, just like they do with amusement park rides, so that problems can be detected and fixed before they become catastrophic. There should be an inspectioni checklist, and the employee who performs the inspection should sign it attesting that he's done the work and confirms everything is good to go. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SimonBones 1 #15 April 18, 2012 Story is that an instructor was in the tube preparing to take some first time flyers who were sitting in the anti-chamber when an entire fan motor with blades came crashing down through the tube and through the net. The instructor ducked for cover in a corner and was very lucky to have the motor and spinning fan blades pass by. Apparently he received only minor injuries from debris and happened to end up on the only small corner of the net that was left. This could have very easily been a fatality. There is video from the driver's seat that will likely never see the light of day, though I heard this all directly from the mouth of someone who watched the video and who is very close to that instructor. This happened more than a month ago. Some measures were taken to try and keep the story from spreading or video being leaked. In my most recent trip to Florida, the official story from some other instructors was that the tunnel was down for an overhaul and motor replacement for a few weeks. One of the major discussion points in the conversation I had with some of those involved were the lack of a real preventative maintenance program with skyventure. Whether that is true or not, I can't say. I find it really interesting that when a serious incident occurs in skydiving or BASE, details get spread everywhere and incident reports are shared with the community. In the wind tunnel culture, any incident however major or minor is generally covered up tightly. Just my experience with other (smaller) incidents in the past. This information is all second hand to me, so take it as such. This is by no means an eye witness account. Consider it a rumor.108 way head down world record!!! http://www.simonbones.com Hit me up on Facebook Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davelepka 4 #16 April 18, 2012 QuoteOne of the major discussion points in the conversation I had with some of those involved were the lack of a real preventative maintenance program with skyventure In all fairness to Skyventure, isn't Orlando the oldest tunnel they have? I think it was the first and has been in business for a very long time. Has it all been without incident? According the attempted cover-up, who knows, but considering the failure of the cover-up, I'm guessing this is the first time anything like this has happened. Anytime there is a 'new' technology, there will be a learning curve with regards to maintenance schedules and preventative maintenance programs. Hopefully, this incident will spark the implementation of PM programs at all the tunnels to prevent a repeat incident. Beyond that, I can't believe that the fans/motors don't have some sort of tether to anchor them to the walls up where the mount. Given their high rotaional speed, and the fact that they're perched right above where people stand, it seems like a no-brainer. If you mount the tethers above the fans, they won't distrub the airflow or risk being cut by the fan if it should come loose. Just a thought. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skydiverek 63 #17 April 18, 2012 So the Orlando tunnel is sucker? Or blower? I guess sucker, and the fan fell from the 'ceiling', right? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
devildog 0 #18 April 18, 2012 My rumor is in line with your rumor, and we don't know each other and what not, so I'd think its got some weight to it. Just sayin'You stop breathing for a few minutes and everyone jumps to conclusions. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Badabing 0 #19 April 19, 2012 my rumor is the same one.. + there is video out there. Don't ask! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
diablopilot 2 #20 April 19, 2012 QuoteQuoteThis is probably the only thisg that scares me as a engineer while I thinking about WT safety. It seems like there should be daily or weekly inspections for cracks and loose nuts & bolts, just like they do with amusement park rides, so that problems can be detected and fixed before they become catastrophic. There should be an inspectioni checklist, and the employee who performs the inspection should sign it attesting that he's done the work and confirms everything is good to go. Some tunnels do a very detailed daily inspection and some don't. I've always been of the opinion (as witnessed) that Orlando and Perris do such inspections. It's not the first time, nor will it be the last that something goes wrong. Everything in life has risks. In case it's not clear I feel Orlando and Perris both run fine faciltlities which I'd be happy to fly in any day of the week.---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
