"Counsel assisting April Freeman cited two expert reports into the incident. Both of them blamed a technique used to anchor the wire, which she called a wire rope grip or bulldog clip. The wire passes through a thimble which clamps it in place. Sign up: AU Breaking News email The wire unspooled from the anchor point, dropping both Sanderson and his wife, Shannon, about 20 to 25 metres to the ground."
"Freeman said a person could not determine how tight the grips were visually and their torque how tightly it was binding the wire in place could decline over time as a rope settled. They also needed regular retightening and other maintenance. The coroner heard the torque was as little as one-seventh as tight as federal standards required, at the time of the incident, according to a report by Workplace Health and Safety Queensland expert Stuart Davies."
On 22 October 2019 a tourist zip line at Cape Tribulation failed while carrying two people in tandem over rainforest; the wire unspooled from an anchor, causing a 20–25 metre fall. The male passenger died of head and chest injuries; the female sustained broken ribs and a fractured scapula. Expert analysis attributed the failure to the use of wire rope grips (bulldog clips) on a thimble termination that were insufficiently torqued and had settled over time. Measured torque was as low as one-seventh of federal standards and calculations showed at least two tons of force on the termination. Regulatory guidance on such grips was inconsistent, generating industry uncertainty.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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