New development in the elevator tragedy where Zeren Ertaş lost her life! Safety mechanism had been disabled
In the expert report regarding the elevator tragedy at a dormitory in Aydın that resulted in the death of university student Zeren Ertaş, it was stated that the company responsible for maintenance activities was primarily at fault for the fatal accident because it had disabled the Unintended Car Movement (UCM) safety mechanism, which is designed to keep the cabin stationary when it moves a certain distance from the floor.
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It has been revealed that safety equipment was disabled in the elevator tragedy in Aydın where a university student lost her life.
The report prepared by experts appointed as part of the investigation conducted by the Aydın Chief Public Prosecutor's Office into the elevator accident that occurred on October 25 at the Güzelhisar Girls' Dormitory has been submitted to the prosecutor's office.
The report stated that inspections conducted one day after the incident revealed that the equipment designed to lock the cabin of the elevator—which had a blue inspection sticker—onto the rails to prevent it from falling rapidly did not engage, and that the mechanism (UCM) intended to prevent the cabin from moving uncontrollably had been disabled both via software on the control board and mechanically via the speed governor.
"SAFETY EQUIPMENT HAD BEEN DISABLED"
The report, which noted that a definitive and clear conclusion regarding the exact causes of the accident could not be reached despite detailed examination and testing of the elevator, included the following statements:
"It is understood that due to the insufficient power of the coil belonging to the electromechanical brake on the elevator machine—which keeps the cabin stationary at floors—one of the brake pads wore down to the point of being unable to perform its duty, and that the improper semi-load balance placed extra strain on the machine and brake. As 16 people entered the cabin while it was stopped at the ground floor, the brake could not carry the load, causing the cabin to slide downward; as the UCM system had been previously disabled, one person became trapped between the cabin and the elevator shaft and lost her life.
The disabled UCM system is a standalone safety piece of equipment that prevents the cabin from moving uncontrollably while the cabin doors are open, and no other safety equipment in the elevator performs the function of the UCM.
Despite the malfunctions that caused the accident, if the UCM assembly had been working, the cabin would have been fixed to the rails once the elevator moved a certain distance, preventing it from moving and leaving a gap wide enough that a person could not have become trapped between the cabin and the floor door or wall."
PRIMARY FAULT ACCUSATION AGAINST THE COMPANY
The report, which stated that elevator maintenance forms and parts replacement logbooks were not kept regularly, used the following expressions: "We are of the opinion that the company performing maintenance activities on the elevator where the accident occurred is primarily at fault for the fatal accident by disabling the UCM mechanism, failing to perform electromechanical brake maintenance and adjustments, and failing to carry out maintenance activities in accordance with relevant regulations."
"ELEVATORS ARE INSUFFICIENT"
In the report, where it was assessed that two 16-person elevators were insufficient when the elevator traffic calculation was performed for the dormitory building designed for a total of 584 students, the following assessment was made regarding the company that performed the design, installation, and market supply of the elevator: "We are of the opinion that it is secondarily at fault for the fatal accident in the elevator because it calculated the design calculations incorrectly and made the counterweight semi-load balance incorrect, causing excessive load on the machine brake."
DORMITORY DIRECTORATE DID NOT PROVIDE OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY TRAINING TO PERSONNEL
The report stated that the Güzelhisar Girls' Dormitory Directorate was also secondarily at fault because it did not provide basic occupational health and safety training to its staff, did not prepare a renovation project regarding the technical requirements of the dormitory whose capacity had increased, did not maintain the elevator's maintenance logbook, and did not take any action despite repeated malfunction reports (as indicated in statements taken after the accident that the elevator frequently malfunctioned and people were getting stuck in the cabin), thereby increasing the probability of an accident risk.
WHAT HAD HAPPENED?
22-year-old Zeren Ertaş, a student at the Adnan Menderes University Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, lost her life as a result of an elevator falling at the Güzelhisar Girls' Dormitory on October 25.
In the investigation, the elevator maintenance company official M.B., the owner of the company that installed the elevator H.T., and 2 engineers were arrested.