The accident on an escalator at Don Mueang airport yesterday (Thursday) might have been caused by a small object falling into the end of the escalator, causing a gap in the floor panel that trapped the leg of a passenger before it stopped automatically 20 seconds later, said Boonpong Kitwattanachai, an advisor to the mechanical engineering committee of the Thai Engineering Institute of Thailand.

He said that a floor panel was found to have fallen under the escalator, indicating that the bolt which attaches the floor to the escalating rail had failed.

He also said that Don Mueang airport had hired the company which supplied the escalator to maintain it and it is checked by the company’s mechanics every day before it is opened for service. As such, it is unlikely that poor maintenance was the cause of the accident, claimed Boonpong.

He also dismissed the suggestion that the escalator is too old, after having been in service at the airport for about 30 years, noting that the normal life span of an escalator is 45 years.

For the sake of safety while riding on the escalator, Boonpong suggested passengers to keep one hand on the handrail and avoid using their cell phone.