Empty Gondola Falls Off Copper Mountain's New Lift

American Eagle Lift, a high-speed quad, will be replaced with a Leitner Poma high-speed lift that includes a combination of both 6-person chairs and 8-person gondola cabins. The new lift will increase uphill capacity by over 40 percent, allowing more skiers and snowboarders access to an abundance of Copper’s intermediate terrain.

Unfortunately today one of the cabins fell off…

HERE IS THE OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM COPPER ABOUT THE INCIDENT:

"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."

“So the lift is still under construction and inadvertently a loose piece or unattached piece of building slipped in front of the grip when it was launched, we are already well into the repair. There’s only minor damage to the lift and it’s not going to set us back at all” said Jon Mauch of constructor Leitner-Poma