What’s the best way to survive a plummeting elevator?

What’s the best way to survive a plummeting elevator? (AP)

Everyone has had the thought while in an elevator – What
should I do if this thing drops out from under me?

“The thought that always comes to mind is I’m just going
to jump the second or the half second before this thing
smashes into the ground and I’ll be OK,” said 97.3 KIRO FM
host Luke Burbank.

But Ross and Burbank co-host Dave Ross
quickly knocked that plan.

“You’d have to jump at such an acceleration that you would
simply crush yourself rather than have the elevator crush
you,” said Ross. “Your legs would have to jump with such
force that your head would collapse into your pelvis.”

Burbank concluded that indeed, to reverse the force down,
you’d need an equal force in the opposite direction to
mitigate the impact.

Listen to Ross
and Burbank discuss the best way to survive a
plummeting elevator?

Ross had his own ideas on how to lessen the crash.

“Use the spring option or the retro rocket option,” said
Ross. “On the way down you cut a hole through the floor
and install a very large stiff spring. That only works for
your taller buildings. The other one would be the retro
rocket where you cut a hole and light off the retro rocket
just before you hit.”

In the case you lack a stiff spring or retro rocket, The New York Times reports, after
checking with MIT engineers, that your best option is
actually lying flat on the floor.

“That will distribute the G’s [gravitational forces] most
evenly across your body,” explained Burbank.

“But you still will be a pancake,” said Ross.

“Yeah, but you won’t have the unfortunate situation of
your head, as you said, burrowing its way through the rest
of your body like some sort of molten bowling ball from
hell.”

Burbank concluded the safest bet, “take the stairs.”

By JAMIE GRISWOLD, MyNorthwest.com Editor