An empty gondola fell from Copper Mountain’s new American Eagle lift this morning at around 11:00am. The gondola cabin detached from its cable resulting in a fall to the ground. It was reported that the gondola popped off the cable after it hit a piece of construction material.
The lift was not open to the public at the time of the accident and thankfully no one was hurt.
Copper Mountain is still planning to operate the lift this weekend, despite the incident.
Statement From Copper Mountain, CO:
At approximately 11 a.m. on Nov. 26, a gondola cabin from the American Eagle lift, currently under construction, detached from its cable resulting in the cabin falling to the ground just after exiting the base terminal. The incident occurred during the testing process. The lift was not open to the public and no one was harmed.
A review by Leitner-Poma, the manufacturer and construction contractor, indicated that no critical components were damaged and we do not anticipate additional delays as a result of this incident.
The safety of our employees, contractors and guests is our number one priority. Copper is working closely with the Leitner-Poma team and the Colorado Passenger Tramway Safety Board to ensure that, once completed, the American Eagle lift will operate safely and reliably.