[SML] Ringling Brothers Accident

[RayP7357 at aol.com]

The Hair Hang incident came down to a bad choice of gear. Carabineers are  
not designed to be tri axially loaded yet less expensive shackles are, even  
then, it did not meet the criteria for a 10:1 design factor. A 5/8" shackle 
 could have solved this effectively. Given the load I would have preferred 
to see  a longer bridle line lessening the angle at the attachment point as 
well.
 
That October after the accident at our advanced aerial and acrobatic  
rigging workshop at LDI, we did destructive testing and recreated the load angle  
on a stock carabineer. It failed exactly as predicted.  Hopefully this slow 
 motion video link will work.
 
https://www.facebook.com/ray.pierce.37/videos/596373233825142/
 
The Espana incident was reportedly traced back to a cotter pin slipping out 
 releasing the pin and eventually the sheave on a block with no lower back  
up. For flying performers we now use blocks that have some form of lower  
containment to prevent the same problem.
 
Ray
 
Ray Pierce
Hollywood Aerial Arts.
 
 
In a message dated 7/9/2016 10:32:00 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time,  
stagecraft at theatrical.net writes:

with  Ringling  , , , it varies . . 

when Desi Espana fell to her death  on the GOLD unit . .  it was I believe 
on Ringling supplied gear . .  

from what I recall it was an open faced block and the pin came out  just 
after she was lifted to max height 

( the block was used to lift a  number of different acts over the course of 
the show ,) 

if she had  been on rigging supplier by her husband and her brother in law 
. . two of the  best in the biz . . . she would be alive today . . 

googled like crazy  to find a report on that accident . . and couldn’t find 
one . . only a quote  from Ken Feld 


+++++++
L.G.: Did you ever, to your satisfaction,  find out the cause of the 
accident that killed Dessi Espana?

K.F.: I  believe it had something to do with a rigging  situation.
+++++++++





> On Jul 9, 2016, at 10:15  AM, Dale Farmer via Stagecraft 
<stagecraft at theatrical.net>  wrote:
> 
> I don't know if this was the case with this act.   But traditionally the 
aerial artists in circuses did their own rigging and  construct their own 
special devices.  I don't know who might have been  involved in the design of 
the rigging and the apparatus, and what their level  of education in the art 
of circus rigging and the  engineering.


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