All language subtitles for When.Elevators.Attack.2020.WEBRip.x264-CAFFEiNE_track3_eng

Narrator: When was the last time
you stepped into an elevator?

Was it today?

Was it yesterday?

Think about the elevators
you encounter each day

While you head to
your doctor's appointments,

Office building, school,
and shopping centers.

Elevators are everywhere.

Riding in an elevator

Has become just as routine
as driving a car.

In a big city, on average,

A person rides in an elevator
four times a day.

These marvels of engineering
have become

So integrated into our world,

We don't even realize
how much we rely on them.

But how safe are they?

Footage has emerged of elevators
spiraling out of control.

There was no getting access
to the people.

Kenny: He will literally be
considering

That he's facing
potential death.

Leembruggen:
I was like, "whoa.

Did we actually just drop
eight floors?"

Narrator: With the help
of industry experts,

We'll explore why
these accidents happen.

Melissa: The fire department
said the elevator can shift,

It can drop,
so you have to stay in there.

Narrator:
Discover how engineers

Are tackling
these horrifying tragedies

And meet the people
who unexpectedly become

Trapped inside an elevator.

Nervick: This is literally
the last person in the world

To be stuck in an elevator with.

-- Captions by vitac --
www.Vitac.Com

Captions paid for by
discovery communications

Narrator: Today, as the world's
urban population explodes

And our modern cities
become denser

And more crowded than ever,
elevators have become

An indispensable
mode of transportation.

These seemingly reliable
feats of engineering

Are so integrated
into our environment,

We barely notice
their existence.

Out of the millions of rides
taken by humans every year,

Only about 30 elevator-related
fatalities have occurred,

And yet accidents still happen.

On March 2nd, 2014,

Tamara siebert
and her 110 pound dog, fedo,

Enter her condo building's
elevator on the 11th floor.

As tamara hits the button
for the parking garage,

Everything appears normal.

But then, something
unimaginable happens.

As the elevator descends,

Fedo suddenly flies
to the ceiling.

His leash caught between
the closed doors,

Surveillance footage
captures him pawing

At the elevator doors

As tamara frantically tries to
remove his collar to free him.

After a few failed attempts,

Tamara hits the emergency
stop button,

Hoping that something
will happen.

The alarm goes off,
but the doors don't open,

Desperate tamara continues
to pull it fedo's collar,

Trying with all her strength
to release him.

After what seemed
like an eternity,

The leash snaps
and fedo drops to the floor.

Luckily, he was not
seriously injured

And tamara walked away
with only a few broken fingers.

And yet this isn't the only
instance of a dog's leash

Getting caught
in a moving elevator

In greenville, south carolina,
hotel manager ben duke...

Good morning.
How are you today?

...Was just
starting his day

When he came across
something very unusual.

I was working in my office,
and when I was coming out,

A guest was in the process
of checking out of the hotel.

As he entered the elevator,

He had his dog
on a retractable leash

And forgot that his dog had not
entered the elevator with him.

The guy started going up
and the dog stayed down,

Narrator: Realizing the imminent
danger the dog was in,

Ben sprang into action.

Duke: First thing I did was I
grabbed him and picked him up

And I was trying
to unhook the leash,

But I was being pulled back
to the elevator by his core.

It was freaking out
the whole time.

I mean, it was barking
and it was yelping.

It actually, like,
scratched me across the face,

But if I let it go
and just let nature happen,

That would have
been terrible results.

Narrator: Unable to unhook
the dog's collar,

Bin had to resort to brute force

As the cord was going up
higher and higher,

I finally realized
I needed to break it,

So I grabbed it
and broke the leash.

It lasted
for probably 10 seconds,

But it seemed
a lot longer than that.

Narrator: So, how did both fedo
and this dog's leash

Get stuck in
the elevator doors undetected?

Many lifts will have sensors
in the door that detect

If somebody is
in the door itself,

They may not always detect
a very small item

Or a very thin item
like a dog's lead.

♪♪

Narrator: Some modern elevators
have infrared light sensors

Installed on both sides
of the doors.

When a passenger enters,

The emitter generates
a single beam of infrared light,

Which scans the object
from top to bottom.

If a laser is blocked, the door
will be stopped immediately.

However, the size of the object
crossing the doorway

Has an impact
on the detection range.

The sensitivity starts at
two inches from the bottom.

We don't want to block a door
for every time somebody drops

A candy wrapper or a cigarette
butt, you know?

That leash is lying on the base,
basically on the ground.

And normally that
would not have occurred

Were the leash
being held up here,

You know, let's say 10,
20 inches off the ground.

Narrator:
Thanks to ben's quick reaction,

Both the owner and his dog

Checked out of the hotel
unharmed.

Duke: I don't know if it
was adrenaline

Or if it luckily caught in the
right spot in the elevator

Or if it was divine interaction.
I don't know.

I know something happened,
and that dog got free.

The owner comes back down
the elevator, grief-stricken.

He thought he'd killed his dog.

Luckily, I was able to show him
that his dog was okay,

And he was he was just very,
very happy at that point.

When you're interacting
with a lift with dogs, pets,

Small children, elderly people,

Anybody that might
be slightly vulnerable,

You need to be careful
of what you're doing.

Carrajat: People have to be more
aware of their surroundings.

They have to be aware
that this is a possibility.

This can happen.

Duke: Hopefully, most people
in that situation

Would react the same way

And try to rescue
another living creature.

Narrator: Aside from the
occasional mechanical problem,

Elevators are one of the safest
modes of transportation.

Statistics show that only one
in 12 million elevator rides

Results in some kind
of incident,

Usually a minor fault,
such as doors failing to open.

And yet while they are safe,

Reports of injuries
are still possible,

Especially involving children.

In gwangju city, china,

Closed-circuit camera footage
captures a young girl

Standing inside an elevator.

What the recording doesn't show
is that before entering,

The girl and her brother
tied one end of a plastic cord

Around themselves
to see what would happen

When the elevator traveled
to a lower floor.

And that's when
this supposedly innocent game

Took a horrible turn.

As the elevator descended.

The girl was pulled
to the ceiling by the cord

And then suddenly
dropped back down.

Only moments later, the young
girl's brother realized

Something had gone wrong
and raced down the stairs

To help his sister.

Thankfully, the girl escaped and
suffered only minor injuries.

♪♪

But doors closing
on undetectable objects

Is not the only hazard
passengers face

When entering or riding
in an elevator.

♪♪

A lift can fail
for all sorts of reasons.

If you think about a lift
for one moment,

It is a box traveling at speed
up and down a shaft.

It's got electricity,
it's got height,

And it's got mechanical devices.

♪♪

Narrator: Mark fairweather is at
an engineering testing facility

To explain how an elevator works
and identify the warning signs

Of a possible
mechanical failure.

Fairweather: So, this is
the lift machine room.

We're now above the lift shaft
with everything below us.

You have a lift car, and on top
of the lift car is ropes.

The ropes come up
over this sheath,

This pulley,
and back down again.

They go back down
to the end of a counterweight.

So, you have a counterweight,

You have a car,
and you have ropes,

And that is the basics
of the lift.

The lift car stays in position
by tracks in the shaft

So it won't move,
same as train tracks.

It has to be driven
by something up or down,

And this here is the motor.
You have to have a break

Because when the lift
comes to stop a landing,

You need to make
sure it's secure.

One other very important
bit of equipment

Is the overspeed governor.

It's a fundamental
safety device.

And what happens is if the lift
starts to travel over?

It's rated speed,
the safety governor

Cranks and stops the ropes,

The safety gear engages
onto the guide rails,

And the lift
will come to a halt.

Narrator:
Undoubtedly, the emergency brake

Is a vital safety feature,

But, sometimes,
an emergency stop could lead

To an entirely new problem.

What happens to the passengers

If they were to suddenly become
trapped inside an elevator?

We press the call button.

We were on the phone
with the lady,

But the guy started
just freaking out.

I knew that this is literally
the last person in the world

To be stuck in an elevator with.

♪♪

Narrator: When it comes to
elevators, the sky's the limit.

This engineering innovation
has transformed the way

In which people interact
with the world, how we move,

And how our modern cities
are constructed.

Fairweather: The population
of the world is growing,

So, the only way that we can
all get on and thrive in a city

Is to basically build upwards.

And, so, to go up,
you need lifts.

Narrator: In the united states,
over 900,000 elevators

Are in operation.

Each makes 18 billion
passenger trips per year.

The invention of the elevator
dates back to roman times,

Where they were used
to move goods and animals

Into the coliseum,

But no one thought of
transporting people until 1854

When elijah otis
made a breakthrough.

Fairweather: He stood up at the
great exhibition in new york

On a wooden platform,
and he said,

"I'm going to prove to you
that traveling lift is safe."

And he stood there and he had
a gentleman cut the only rope.

The left fell two inches before
what was then

The very first form
of safety gear engaged.

And he declared, "all is safe,
gentlemen. All is safe."

Narrator: However, even with
the modern version

Of otis's safety device
in place,

Elevators can still travel
a significant distance

Before the safety gears engage.

♪♪

In toronto, canada,

Nick nervick was heading
to a friend's house

When disaster struck.

Nervick:
It was a Sunday around 12:00.

And we're going to watch
a basketball or football game.

I was waiting for the elevator,
and I remember some other guy

Walking in there with me.

I definitely knew him
from the neighborhood,

But didn't think too much of it.

And we got to about the second
or third floor.

And then the elevator stopped.

Narrator: After about
five minutes into his ordeal,

Nick hits the emergency button
and speaks to an operator

Who assures him that help
is on the way.

Nervick:
We pressed the call button.

We were on the phone
with the lady...

And she said that she would send
the security guard up

To make sure
that everything is okay.

Everything seems like
it's going fine.

It felt like they're to help.
It was very relieving.

I thought that we were going to
be out of there pretty quickly.

Remain calm.

But then the guy that was in the
lift just starts freaking out.

Narrator:
And that's when the situation
went from bad to worse.

Nervick:
This guy's freaking out.

It's causing us not to get help.

It's causing us to be stuck.
You know what I mean?

I just wanted to try
and remain calm.

I knew that this is literally
the last person in the world

To be stuck in an elevator with.

[ banging and bell ringing ]

The fact that nick's
filming himself is interesting.

First off, it helps him engage
in a conversation

With the guy in the lift
without directing it at him,

He can't communicate efficiently
with the guy,

But he can communicate
to the phone, showing the guy

Who's in the left
that he's rational

And that he's also present.

[ bell ringing ]
and here's the bell again.

We are trying to remain calm,
but it is very hard

Because, uh...Yeah.

Most of the auto dialers
that you press,

It's a telephone line in effect,

And it normally goes through
to a call center.

Those people
are trained operatives

Who are trained
to keep you calm,

Keep you informed, and
let you know what's going on.

Now, it might well be

That what they tell you,
you don't want to hear.

They might say that we've
dispatched an engineer,

And they're going to be
45 minutes,

45 minutes trapped in a lift

Might not be
everybody's cup of tea.

It's very important that you're
given accurate information,

But also that you're given it
in a way that keeps you calm

And keeps you relaxed.

[ bell ringing ]

Man: Hello.

I don't want management.
I want someone to do something!

Operator: Sir, calm down.

Don't tell me
to...Calm down!

Hey, miss, yeah,
we're pretty calm here.

You want me to calm down?
How about I calm you down?

Nick is in one of those
really challenging situations.

So, first of all,
he is trapped in a lift.

But, unfortunately,
at this moment, somebody else

Is trapped in it with him,
and he's quite volatile.

[ shouts ]

Narrator: It was at this point
when nick starts to panic.

Having trouble breathing here.
I don't have my puffer with me.

I think I'm having
an asthma attack right now,

I'm a little freaked out,
to be completely honest,

And I don't know what to do.

The whole anxiety comes up back
that I might die, this and that,

And then it leads to just
an overall just state of fear.

Nick is displaying
classic signs of panic,

Even though it's quite calm
in the initial stages,

And he's using something
to cope.

He's using his phone.

As he starts to struggle
with his breathing,

He feels out of control
in this situation.

He's having
an asthma attack,

And you guys aren't
doing nothing.

Yeah, I don't have
my puffer on me.

After the lady on the intercom
was aware

That there is
a medical emergency,

She told us and informed us that
they were going to send help.

Narrator: Finally, after
being trapped for over an hour,

The toronto fire department
arrives on the scene.

I'm glad for you
to get me out of here.

I've been here
for an hour.

Shut up for a second.

Man, first of all,
I'm completely calm right now.

I just want to be able to get
out of here as soon as possible.

The fire department
opened up the door for us.

Two firefighters just each
took each of their hands,

And they just pulled me out.

As soon as I got out of there,
I just dipped. I left.

I haven't gone back
to that building since.

Narrator: Nick still can't
forget the stressful events

That transpired.

I still suffer from anxiety
due to it.

Whenever I'm about
to hop into an elevator,

I always make sure that I look

And see who I'm going
in there with.

It's more so the fear
of something happening inside

Because you cannot control
what another person is doing

When they're stuck in
a small environment like that.

Narrator: For nick,
getting trapped in an elevator

Was an experience that he'd
prefer to forget.

But in providence, rhode island,
melissa rogers and her fiancée,

Justin,
faced a different scenario.

One of her bridesmaids
came up to me, grabbed my arm.

She said, "you need
to come this way with me.

Melissa's stuck
in the elevator."

♪♪

Narrator: Elevators --
these marvels of engineering

Have become so embedded
in our society,

We don't even realize
how much we rely on them,

But if used improperly,

A person could suffer
serious consequences.

In china, surveillance footage

Shows a boy
striking an elevator door

With a martial arts style punch.
The dynamic force

Instantly causes
the metal doors to give way.

And here a man is seen
kicking an elevator door

Out of frustration.

But then once the elevator
arrives and he walks in,

The door swings open,

Causing the man
to fall to a lower floor.

The lift will open
when it arrives at the floor

Because the internal doors
indicate to the external doors

That it has arrived.

And so this type of scenario,
forcing doors open,

Is very likely to run the risk
of falling down a lift shaft.

Narrator:
To ensure right or safety,

It's essential to stay calm
and be cautious

When using elevators,

Regardless of
the extenuating circumstance.

♪♪

In providence, rhode island,
melissa roger

Is preparing to marry justin,

The love of her life.

To celebrate their nuptials,

The couple hosts
a lavish reception in a ballroom

On the top floor of a hotel.

After the pictures,
we decided to kind of separate.

Justin went to the cocktail
hour, and I went up

With two of the wedding
coordinators in the elevator

And kind of left
all my bridesmaids,

And they were supposed
to meet me on the next floor up.

We hit the button
to go up the one floor,

And as soon as we got in,

There was kind of a shudder
and a shake, loud noise,

And I didn't really think
anything of it.

When I had asked the wedding
coordinators, you know,

"does this happen frequently?"
thinking that it was

An old elevator, maybe it
breaks down every now and then,

And they said, "no,
this never happens."

That's when I got
a little nervous

And I started to really think,
you know,

"am I going to miss my wedding?
How long am I going to be here?"

Lots of things kind of go
through your mind

When it's your wedding day,
and you're missing it.

10 minutes into the ordeal,
melissa manages to make contact

With someone
on the elevator intercom.

One of her bridesmaids
came up to me,

Grabbed my arm.
I kind of turned around.

She said, you need
to come this way with me.

Melissa's stuck
in the elevator.

As the process went on
and the fire department came,

It grew a little bit more of a
crowd between the wedding party,

And they decided to have
a little cocktail hour

Of themselves
outside the elevators.

That's right.

Immediately after they arrive,
the fire department

Tries to pry
the elevator doors open

And establish contact
with melissa.

I could actually see people
and talk to people.

And, so, somebody on one
of the lower levels passed me

A glass of champagne.

And once the doors open,
I was really excited.

I thought,
"this is the way out.

Somebody can just lift me
out of this little hole."

Man:
You can't make this up.

The bride is stuck
in the elevator.

Narrator: It's common for
a passenger in this situation

To want to jump out
of the elevator

Once they see a way out,
but, ultimately,

Waiting for instructions
is always the safer option.

The fire department did not want
melissa to go out the top

Or the bottom in fear of her
being cut in half.

Fairweather:
If somebody tries to get out

Of the lift when it moves,
obviously,

It can act as a guillotine.

Narrator: This footage
from inside an elevator in china

Shows just how dangerous
an unsecured elevator can be.

As a woman walks in,
the doors suddenly close

And the car moves upwards,

Ensnaring her leg
the entire time

As she reaches
the top of the doorway.

Her leg breaks.

As she desperately tries
to free herself,

The elevator continues to travel
upwards for three floors

Until it finally comes
to a stop.

♪♪

To avoid a similar catastrophe,
melissa was told to stay put.

The safest method is always
to get the lift

As close to floor level
as possible,

And when it's at floor level,

Then the person can step out
of the lift car.

The fire department,

They ended up
stabilizing the elevator.

A technician came.

They turned the system off,
rebooted the whole system,

And the elevator rose,
and out I came.

The doors opened and walked out
like everybody else.

[ all cheering ]

There was a big celebration
between family and friends,

And the fire department.

I took pictures
with the firemen.

When it was all
said and done,

I probably wouldn't
change anything.

It really creates
a pretty good story.

♪♪

Narrator: Coming up, the chicago
fire department receives a call

That six people
are trapped in an elevator

At the former
john hancock center.

The only problem is
the rescue team

Have no idea which floor
the elevator's stuck on.

Maloney:
So, we arrived on the scene.

We were told that the elevator
plummeted from the 95th floor.

The first thing I thought of
once I was walking in

Was it wasn't
going to be good.

♪♪

Narrator: Chicago,
the windy city --

Known for its culture, food,

And is home to one of
the world's greatest skylines.

Keeping its citizens safe
is the chicago fire department,

Led by battalion chief
patrick maloney.

Maloney:
Fire is our first priority,

But we go
to any technical rescues

Throughout the city of chicago.

Narrator: Daniel truesdale is
a member of squad one,

A rescue unit
within the department.

Squad one is in charge
of confined-space rescue,

Which requires an extremely
special set of skills.

There's four squads in the city.
We do specialized rescue stuff.

We do rope rescue,

Which is part of the elevator
runs, things like that.

Narrator:
On November 16th, 2018,

Squad one received
an alarming emergency call.

I was in the firehouse
doing my journal entry.

[ alarm beeping ]

Woman: 515,
875 north michigan avenue.

At approximately midnight
on that date,

They called for
a blind shaft rescue response.

5-1-5.
[ siren wails ]

Narrator:
Six people were trapped
in a 100-story skyscraper.

Maloney: Call it a blind shaft
in the city of chicago.

It's basically
an express elevator

That skips certain floors.

Narrator:
Unlike traditional elevators,

Blind shaft elevators
are found

In buildings taller
than 20 floors high.

Truesdale: Say, for instance,
you get in the building

And there's a designated
bank of elevators

That will take you
directly to the 20th floor.

Between the 20th
and the first floor,

That would be considered
a blind shaft.

There are no doors,
so the first place

That the elevator will open
is the 20th floor.

Narrator: The call was to
875 north michigan avenue,

The building formerly known
as the john hancock center.

Maloney:
So we arrived on the scene.

We were told that the elevator
plummeted from the 95th floor

Down to -- we were
originally thinking

It was the 16th
or 18th floor.

We found out they were
at the 11th floor.

The first thing I thought of
once I was walking in,

It was, it wasn't
going to be good.

You're talking about a free fall
of over 900 feet,

Maybe over 1,000 feet.

And that's not even survivable
in most cases.

Narrator:
Luckily, the passengers
inside the elevator,

Including a pregnant woman,
were all unharmed.

The fire department's first
priority was to determine

How they were going
to get the people out.

We were going to do an elevator
to elevator rescue,

Coming in off the top
of the elevator

And then putting them into
the elevator that is working.

I put two squad 1 firefighters
in the elevator shaft.

And at that time is when
we discovered that we had

A spool of cable
on top of the elevator.

Narrator: It was at that moment
when the fire department

Identified
the cause of the failure --

A snapped cable lying on top
of the emergency exit.

Truesdale: We couldn't get
on top of it.

There was no getting access
to the people.

Maloney: So we came back down
and we reassessed,

And then the thought was that
we're going to breach a wall.

Truesdale: The elevator
just so happened to be

With access
to a parking garage area.

So we went into
the parking garage,

Drew out our lines to cut out.

Narrator: The team
drilled through a brick wall,

Creating
a five-by-five-foot hole

Through which they could see
the top half of the elevator.

We breached a wall with cutting
tools and sledgehammers.

Truesdale:
And we cut the cinder block,

Took it all out,

And the elevator
just was right there.

Maloney: And we were able
to open the door.

Needless to say,
they were very gracious

To see
the chicago fire department.

Truesdale: We made sure that
the elevator was secure,

That it wouldn't move anywhere,

Put a ladder down
into the elevator,

And everybody just
walked up and out.

Maloney: They were all smiling,
hugging each other

And thanking us,
which we were very happy to see

That everything turned out
to be great.

Narrator: It took squad 1
less than two hours to find

And free the passengers.

But what caused the accident?

It's pretty obvious
that there was probably

One or more failures
in the lift,

And therefore it went down
the lift shaft

In an uncontrolled movement

Before the safety gear
engaged.

Narrator: Riders reported
hearing loud clunking noises

Just before
the elevator stopped.

So it's very likely that
this is where the brakes

Are kicking in and trying to
slow the car on the rails.

And there are different ways
that this happens.

It could be by gripping,
or it could be

By wedges going into
notches on the rails.

So depending on what
their safety system is,

Will depend on the sorts
of noises that you hear.

Narrator:
So why did the elevator fall
such a great distance

Before the brakes kicked in?

Fairweather: If you've got
a rated speed of a lift

Of 4 meters per second,

It goes above 4 meters
per second,

That's when the safety gear
engages.

So it could have traveled
quite a long way,

But at some point it broke
its rated speed

And therefore
the safety gear engaged.

This was not a free fall.
This was a controlled stop.

If the elevator free-fell,

You would have had x number
of dead people in there.

Narrator: But it's not
just snapped cables

That can cause an elevator
to drop or suddenly stop.

And sometimes help isn't just
around the corner.

In new york city,

Nicholas white
couldn't have imagined

That taking a quick break
would have ended up

In the longest
41 hours of his life.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: It's Friday night
in new york city,

And while most people are
heading home for the weekend,

34-year-old nicholas white
is working late.

♪♪

He takes the elevator
down to the ground floor

And walks outside
for a quick smoke break.

Minutes later,
he heads back upstairs.

But about halfway up,
the elevator suddenly jolts,

The lights go out

And immediately
flash back on again.

It was at that moment
that nicholas realizes

That the elevator
has completely stopped.

He notices the control panel
in the elevator

Making a beeping noise.

He anxiously waits to hear
someone on the other end

Offer him information or
instruction on what to do next.

He waits another few minutes,

Then presses the intercom
to call for help.

But there's still no response.

Carrajat: There's a surveillance
camera in the elevator.

There's two people allegedly
24/7 watching these cameras.

Nobody responds.

Narrator:
As panic starts to set in,

Narrator: Nicholas paces
around the elevator.

He hits the emergency button,
which sets off an alarm.

He then pulls the button
out of the panel,

Which causes the alarm
to ring continuously.

And that's when things go
from bad to worse.

That elevator became his cage.

Kenny: I imagine what goes
through your head

When you're stuck in a lift
is a sense that it will only be

A matter of time
before somebody finds you.

I mean, you are used to the fact
that you work in a building

And that people are coming
and going.

But after a few hours,

Obviously that brings
some doubts.

♪♪

Narrator: Nicholas desperately
searches for a way out.

He tries to pry open the doors
and shout for help,

But no one answers his calls.

Kenny: For nick,
it's hard to imagine

How the situation
is going to get any worse.

He has no food.
He has no water.

He has absolutely
no help around him.

And he literally doesn't know
if he's going to get out.

Fairweather: You are going to
get claustrophobic

And you are going to worry
about your air supply.

I can reassure you that all
lifts have ventilation systems,

And so you're not going
to run out of air,

But that doesn't help
the feeling of claustrophobia.

Narrator: Nick has now been
trapped for over 13 hours.

He occupies his time
by trying to remain calm.

He decides not to do anything
drastic, like kick down the door

In fear that whatever
the malfunction,

He might jostle the car
and risk his chances of rescue.

With no way of knowing when
someone will come to his aid,

He lies on the floor,
drifting in and out of sleep.

Every time he wakes, he finds
himself back in his nightmare,

It becomes very confusing

And you learn
to feel helpless very quickly

Because everything
is beyond your control

And you have no idea of
when and where you are

In reality,
as far as time goes.

Narrator: After 24 hours,

Nick comes to terms
with his stark reality.

Kenny: He doesn't know how long
he's going to be in there.

And all of a sudden,
he's starting to build in

This potential
and possibility

That he might not get found.

He will literally
be considering

That he's facing
potential death.

♪♪

Narrator: Finally, after being
trapped for nearly 41 hours,

Someone spots nick
on the security camera.

At 4:00 p.M.
On Sunday afternoon,

Nicholas hears a voice
on the intercom

Asking if anyone was there.

At last, he was rescued.

As soon as they got a mechanic
there, they moved the car.

So it was not something that
was a catastrophic failure,

And probably any mechanic
from the company

That would have gotten there
would have had him out

In 15, 20 minutes.

41 hours?

That just shouldn't happen
to a human being.

Narrator: After
the terrifying experience,

Nicholas received a settlement
from the building.

He never learned
why the elevator stopped,

But unbelievably,
he still rides in them.

For most, being trapped in a
static elevator is scary enough.

But what's it like to be stuck
in one that suddenly plummets?

♪♪

In queensland, australia,

Cailem leembruggen
and his friends

Are celebrating
their high school graduation

In a rented apartment when
something very alarming happens.

Narrator: As more people pile
into the elevator,

The space inside
becomes smaller and tighter.

Suddenly, the elevator begins
to plummet towards the ground

At rapid speed.

[ shouting ]

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator:
19-year-old cailem leembruggen
and his friends

Were celebrating
their high school graduation

In a rented apartment when
something unforeseen transpired.

Narrator:
As the group crams inside,

Suddenly, without warning,
the elevator begins to plummet

Towards the ground
at rapid speed.

...Whoa!

Narrator: In that moment,
there was only one thing

That was going
to stop this elevator --

A buffer.
[ screeching ]

A buffer is a safety device

Designed to stop
a descending elevator car

That has exceeded
its normal weight limit.

Elevator buffers are mounted
at the base of an elevator shaft

And provide protection
during a malfunction.

Baxter: And that buffer will
provide a shock absorber

Which will have
cushioned their landing,

Even though the lift
was overloaded.

Narrator: In this case,
the buffer is what saved

Cailem and his friends' lives.

The car fell eight floors
before hitting the buffer

At 90 miles per hour.

Once the elevator stops,
someone calls for help.

Um, I think we may have

Possibly overloaded
the elevator...

[ laughs ]

Woman: Stop, no, stop!

Narrator: After being trapped
for nearly two hours,

A rescue team finally arrives.

Narrator:
Later, investigators reported

That the brakes had failed,

Which caused the drop from level
eight to the basement.

Luckily, no one was injured.

♪♪

Narrator:
Regardless of the odds,

Once you've been stuck
in an elevator,

The psychological effects
can take its toll,

As in the case of sue collins,

Who hasn't set foot
in an elevator for 25 years.

Collins: When I think about
getting into a lift,

I immediately feel a panic.

I can't breathe properly,
I feel clammy.

I feel as though my heart
is beating out of my chest.

Phobias are life-limiting
experience,

Which means that you are
prevented from doing things

That you would ordinarily as
a normal person be able to do.

It can be triggered,
and also it can be inherited.

♪♪

Narrator: Sue's fear manifested
while riding in an elevator

With her daughter.

We came to the floor we wanted
to get out on and the doors --

It only took a second to open,

But in that one second,
I panicked and I thought,

"how would I get out of here
if these doors don't open?"

And I've never been
in a lift since.

Today, sue is meeting with
hypnotherapist aaron surtess

In london to confront her fear.

Before treatment,
aaron evaluates

How severe her fear
truly is.

So here is our lift.

We're at the top
of the building here.

Now how are you feeling
right now?

At this moment,
where I'm stood, I'm okay.

How about if you step
to this line here?

Just -- just where
that line is there.

Has that got a little bit
worse there?

As I get closer,
I just feel my heart starting

And I feel panicky
and I'm sweating.

Yeah, I just can't even
think about...

Okay, let's step back.
...Continuing, going --

Aaron asked me to step

A little bit closer
to the lift,

And I started to experience
the start of a panic attack.

I hate it. I hate the way
it controls my life.

I hope today is the start of me
saying no to this phobia.

Hypnotherapy changes
and resets the mind.

It reprograms the mind.

You feel calm,
confident, and in control,

Taking out
the irrational thoughts,

The old loop that creates
that fear mentality,

Creating a new loop of
"I can, I will."

Open your eyes
in their own time

And take a nice,
deep breath.

Narrator: Now that the session
is complete,

There's only one way to find out
if the treatment works.

If I was able to travel in that
lift, it would be a miracle.

It would open up parts
of my life again

That have been closed to me
for a long time.

♪♪

-How are you feeling, sue?
-I'm -- I'm really nervous.

-Yeah?
-Yeah, yeah.

Take a step.
[ whimpers ]

Remember that happy place?

Yes, happy place.
Remember that happy place?

Happy place.

We're having excitement.

That nervous excitement
can be positive,

Remember that.
Yes, yes.

I can't believe
I'm in here.

You're doing brilliantly.
Oh, my god.

You're doing fantastically.

I was 99.9% sure that
that wasn't going to happen.

...Minus one.

And here we are,
all the way down.

All the way down.

Here we go.
Yeah. Yeah.

You've done brilliantly.
Oh, my god.

Fantastic.
Thank you so much.

You've done
absolutely brilliant --

God, I can't believe it.
Oh...

That was amazing.
That was brilliant.

I can't believe I've
actually just ridden in a lift.

Thank you so, so much.

Sue did brilliantly.

And I think that she will
actually just feel happier

Over the coming weeks,
months,

That she knows that this phobia
has gone completely.

Collins: My life is
going to be different

From this moment on.

It's going to be amazing.

Narrator: So what does the
future hold for elevators?

Fairweather: The interfaces
between people and machines

In everything we do
are getting more sophisticated.

Already in our industry,
you can walk into the building

And it can do facial recognition

And know who you are,
what floor you want to go to,

And it can direct you
to the right lift

Without touching any button.

In the future, we may see lifts
that move much faster.

We may see lifts
that potentially could move

In different directions.

Fairweather: It's been labeled
as a willy wonka lift

Where basically you have lifts
that go vertically

And horizontally
with many in the shaft,

And they go up
and they go across.

If you can help the flow
of people into a building

And out of a building
more successfully,

Then you get efficiency,

And then you get a better
lift system.

In our industry,
if you don't notice the lifts,

Then actually we've done
a great job.

♪♪