Two of the acrobats have serious spinal injuries and had emergency surgery but at least have feeling in their legs. One is out of the hospital. Most (possibly all) of them have spinal fractures.
Ringling Bros. Accident
- Thread starterruinexplorer
- Start date
Oh wow. I'd watched the press conference with the doctors who's said they didn't know if the two would be able to walk. Hopefully she is correct!
Amiers
Renting to Corporate One Fixture at a Time.
GMA definitely worked the videos a bit better and cleaned them up. After they fell you can see shards of something fly just as they are about to hit the ground. I would love to see the carabiner. As we do aerial acts every show and it will be interesting to see if somehow it got twisted or if some how it rotated while rising and made it up to the spine which to me makes no sense at all. I just wish there was a more clear picture of the top of the rigging as all you really see is the hook and from the videos it looked like it broke above that point. Speculation though. Glad the girls are all alive.
Breaking into more than 2 pieces isn't unheard of, as the gate may break apart from both the lower and upper parts of the carabiner.
"Why the carabiner that was in use failed in the way that it did without any obvious deformation, I don't have an answer for you as of right now. Awaiting test results from various agencies to be released.
As to the issue of a backup: Be aware, these women are literally hanging by their hair. Any backup that could have been in place would have resulted in a drop in height, which could have either broken all of their necks simultaneously or ripped their scalps off, in which case they still would have fallen to the floor. Not saying that a backup is not a great idea, but it is not always achievable in certain applications"
For anyone interested, heres two more comments from the show's head rigger. The second one is pretty much what I figured as far as the lack of an independent backup. What I don't understand and see a major issue with is that the system did not have substantially higher safety margins or a multiple point suspension. Sounds like a poor choice somewhere in the design/engineering combined with a piece of hardware failing way below it's rated load.
That said, I don't have anything except for the upmost sympathy for the performers and show crew and especially the riggers. I cannot imagine what they are going through. I hope they are all okay and that they are provided any help they need or want getting through this situation.
As to the issue of a backup: Be aware, these women are literally hanging by their hair. Any backup that could have been in place would have resulted in a drop in height, which could have either broken all of their necks simultaneously or ripped their scalps off, in which case they still would have fallen to the floor. Not saying that a backup is not a great idea, but it is not always achievable in certain applications"
For anyone interested, heres two more comments from the show's head rigger. The second one is pretty much what I figured as far as the lack of an independent backup. What I don't understand and see a major issue with is that the system did not have substantially higher safety margins or a multiple point suspension. Sounds like a poor choice somewhere in the design/engineering combined with a piece of hardware failing way below it's rated load.
That said, I don't have anything except for the upmost sympathy for the performers and show crew and especially the riggers. I cannot imagine what they are going through. I hope they are all okay and that they are provided any help they need or want getting through this situation.
BillConnerFASTC
Well-Known Member
I understand but I think that the stamped rating is based on the spine alone and that the gate is not relied on for tension forces and that it's exactly right. Look at the illustration in [HASHTAG]#50[/HASHTAG]. A lot of these have wire gates I am learning, consider an advantage because they don'rt bounce open (very unscientific description). Not an expert but I checked s number of links to see what the stamped rating was - basically MSB - and saw some testing videos.
cmckeeman
Active Member
It all depends on the shape of the Carabiner, if it is a modified D like the image above then it is designed to push everything to the spine so your understanding would be correct, if it is an oval then the shape pushes everything too the middle and it splits the force between the spine and the gate/nose.
JD
Well-Known Member
Still creeps me out to not see a shackle being used. I know, in that industry ropes and carabiners are common. The thought of using one on metal equipment just makes the hair on my back stand. Especially to hold 8 people and a 300+lb frame. Metal equipment just has more of a point-contact stress focus. This may not be a factor in this failure if the break points are not at the point of contact. I would be uncomfortable using it. Maybe it's just me.
cmckeeman
Active Member
I agree somewhat, the metal on metal doesn't bother me much (if it was aluminum on steel then it would) but the only reason i could see using a carabiner is if there is very little time to connect the structure to the system, with how much stronger a shackle is time is the only reason to not use one, but i'm not too convinced even then.
techieman33
Well-Known Member
bobgaggle
Well-Known Member
Slightly changing the subject, and maybe this has been discussed in another thread, but what is yalls take on how it was handled in the immediate aftermath? Lights stayed low, music kept playing while crew/performers aided the victims. I've never been in this position but I feel like the lights should be brought up...
BillConnerFASTC
Well-Known Member
I thought they did kill the follow spots in around 4 seconds and the general "house" lighting in an arena might not be quick re-strike and would simply take a while - 5 minutes - to come to full. I couldn't tell if the (usually quartz) lights to provide 1 ft candle for egress while the discharge units re-strike came on or not.
I think the stage manager followed their pre-planned emergency procedures. My guess, and it's just a guess, is their procedure involves providing adequate light to provide initial response but not so much as to panic the audience.
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