Failed Electrical Switch Caused Runaway Ski Lift At White Pass

OLYMPIA - A runaway ski lift that injured several high-school athletes in the summer was caused by a failed electrical switch, although investigators said overloading may have contributed to the number of injuries.

``The overspeed condition of chairlift 1 at White Pass on July 26, 1990, was caused by a failed solid-state switch component'' in a motor that served as a governor of lift speed, said Kris Kauffman, state parks engineer in charge of ski-lift inspections.

An investigation run by Kauffman also found that White Pass operators had overloaded the lift beyond its ``rated downhill capacity'' by 70 percent to 102 percent. Investigators also found that the operator who loaded the athletes at the top of the lift had not been certified by the state to operate it.

Kauffman said the ski area ``may be subject to a misdemeanor charge in the matter of noncompliance with loading, overspeed control and operator-certification requirements.''

He said having fewer people on the lift might have resulted in fewer injuries.

Investigators said 75 to 89 people, mostly high-school athletes at a running camp, were on the lift when the switch failed, Kauffman said.

The failure caused a power surge and accelerated the descending chairs at three times their normal speed, to nearly 1,000 feet per minute, Kauffman said at a news conference.

The ``runaway lift accident caused at least 22 individuals to leave or be thrown from moving chairs and 53 other people to be evacuated by rope within two hours of the incident,'' said the report on the investigation.

Two athletes were seriously injured when the chair they were occupying was ripped from the cable. Two others were hurt when they jumped, Kauffman said.

White Pass manager Kevin McCarthy, who attended the news conference, said he and other resort officials are ``just going to stand up and take the rap'' for the overloading.

``It's just a mistake that was made,'' he said.

Kauffman and McCarthy said there was no reason to suspect the switch might fail when it did. Inspections were made in November 1989 and March of this year, Kauffman said.

McCarthy said the resort on State Highway 12 in the Cascades has replaced equipment and that he feels confident the incident could not happen again.

Kauffman said the state is revising regulations to minimize the chances of such accidents.