No-no-no-no-no, not again.
Come on, open up.
Open up!
What's this?
Noooo-o-o-o...
Not every elevator ride
ends up like that.
But when the steel doors close,
and seal you inside one square meter of space,
you might find yourself picturing the worst case scenario.
How can you survive a falling elevator,
if it comes to that?
Well here's your answer...
This is an average office building elevator.
It works a regular week of 10 hours a day
and makes 400,000 trips per year.
Pretty hard-working.
If you work in an office,
you're likely to take about eight elevator rides a day.
Getting stuck in an elevator is unpleasant.
It happens about once in every 5,000 rides.
Finding yourself in a free-falling elevator
is quite rare.
But if, by fluke, it happens to you,
what should you do?
Before we get to your survival strategy,
let me take you behind-the-scenes
of an elevator.
Let's see.
Modern elevators feature a variety of safety backups
like multiple safety cables.
Even if by some very unfortunate accident
the motor fails and absolutely all metal cables fall down,
the electromagnetic brakes will activate
and stop the elevator from plunging to the ground floor.
But let's imagine the worst possible case.
The elevator is falling.
There are no ropes, no brakes,
the car is moving fast towards the ground,
and you are stuck inside.
You have only a couple seconds to decide.
Should you...
A. Jump
B. Brace yourself
C. Lie flat on the floor
If you chose to jump,
you're probably dead.
Theoretically, if you jump at just the right moment
as the elevator is hitting the floor,
you slow down the speed of your fall,
and that gives you a soft landing.
But chances that you could make it work are slim.
Not only is pushing yourself off the floor
of a falling elevator hard,
you wouldn't slow down significantly
unless you're jumping very fast.
Maybe you chose to brace yourself?
Well, sorry,
you're most likely dead as well.
When the elevator hits the bottom of the shaft,
your body will seem much heavier,
depending on the length of your ride to the bottom.
That's because gravity makes the elevator accelerate during a fall.
And because you become so heavy at the time of your impact,
your legs won't be able to support your body.
Your best chance is to lie down
with the chubbiest side of you on the floor.
And make sure to protect your head.
That will distribute the force of the impact all over your body.
Plus, the bottom pad of the elevator shaft would help reduce the impact.
Survival is possible.
In 1945, when a bomber hit the Empire State Building,
one woman happened to be inside an elevator.
She plummeted 75 floors to the basement
and got out of there with only a few broken bones.
But if you feel anxious, just take the stairs.
And join us next time for another survival how-to...