There cable car of Mount Faito It was hit by a serious accident, Thursday 17 April 2025, which caused 4 victims and for which the Prosecutor’s Office ordered the seizure of the Castellammare stations of Stabia and Monte Faito. due to the breakage of the cable betweenthe rope that has the task of dragging the cabins along the way. One of the two cabins is precipitated After hitting a pylon, causing the death of 4 people, the driver and 3 foreign tourists, and the serious injury of an Israeli tourist. The other cabin remained suspended With 11 people on board, then he rescued. The accident led to the opening of an investigation by culpable disaster to ascertain the causes, with a focus on State of the ropesthe maintenance procedures and any previous anomalies. The plant had been reopened just a week earlier following maintenance interventions.
The cable car “a va e you” they represent an engineering solution to overcome significant differences in height and their apparently simple operation is based on a well -orchestrated system of cable And mechanisms which guarantee the transport of people. Understanding how these infrastructures operate is essential to reflect on the importance of theirs maintenance And safety.
The cable system of a cable car a va and come del Mount Faito
The cable car of Mount Faito, open to the public on August 24, 1952, colleague Castellammare di Stabia to the summit of the Monte Faitocovering a distance of 2945 meters with a difference in height of 1060 meters in approximately 8 minutes. The journey of this plant is carried out by Two cabins According to the “go and come and come” principle, a synchronous and alternating movement between the starting and arrival stations, with the cabins that cross halfway through the journey.
Generally, in a cable car to va and come two distinguishes bearing cablesrobust and fixed, which have the primary function of support the weight of the cabins. These cables are firmly anchored to Starting and arrival stations And they are designed to endure high loads and stresses due to environmental conditions. Parallel to the load -bearing cables, operates the cablea continuous ring rope handled by a motor located in one of the stations that has the task of drag the cabins along the way, alternating the direction for the round trip. There is also a system of rescue ropes for the transport of trolleys in case of emergency.
In the case of the Faito cable car, the supporting ropes have a diameter of 50 millimetersthe ropes between 22-23 millimeters and the rescue ropes of 14 millimeters.
The cabins they are not directly hung on the load -bearing cables but are connected to gods trolley equipped with rollers that flow along the load -bearing cables, thus allowing the movement of the cabin.
Along the way, the cables are supported by vertical structures, i support pylons. These are also useful for ensuring the management of slopes in the journey. The Faain cable car has 3 of these structures and reaches a maximum slope of the 60%.
To prevent the cableresponsible for the movement of the cabins, you are too curious between one pylon and another, intermediate supports are used, i horseswhich keep the cable for a certain height.
Emergency braking systems and safety systems
It is important to underline that the cabins are equipped with emergency braking systemsdesigned to take action in case of anomalies, such as the breakdown of the leaving cable or excessive speed. In particular, the trolleys have specific emergency brakes for the load -bearing ropes, with the aim of immediately blocking the cabin in the event of a transfer of the led fune.
The security systems of the Faain cable car make sure that the wire ridden only takes place if both cars and the mountain station provide the consent to proceedand if all the ropes are suitably isolated. The system is designed to immediately operate the emergency brakes if the wind exceeds a certain limit speed (measured by anemometers) and if the speed of the cabins exceeds the safety thresholds. In the accident of April 17, this system blocked aside the uphill cabin, but for reasons still to be clarified, it did not do it with the downhill one, which has fallen.
The dynamic of the recent accident at Monte Faito presents similarities with the first accident of the same cable car, the August 15, 1960when the downhill cabin came to the valley too quickly falling on the tracks of the Circumvesuviana.
The complexity of an VA and Come system underlines the crucial importance of rigorous maintenance and periodic checks. Each component, from cables to traction and braking mechanisms, must be inspected and maintained according to high standards to ensure safety. The investigations in progress on the accident of Mount Faito will focus precisely on the state of these elements and on the maintenance procedures adopted.
