Sky-Cam Fail OU vs Iowa Bowl Game 2011

[StoopTroup]

Figured we should have this one in here as another bit of OU History. Also for those that didn't see it.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPPJ6rg_TTA

[Soonerus]

I wondered if that would ever happen...

[LVSOONER15]

That was pretty dumb. Espn sucks no matter.

[nighttrain12]

That would have been a serious matter if it hit and injured a player.

[StoopTroup]

I think it's still a serious matter as they probably do not even have a "What should we do if the cable on the Sky-Cam fails?" list for the Production crew. I bet they do now and if they don't.....it won't be much longer before they do.

[EatLeadCommie]

Thank god nobody was hurt from it. Why the hell did they drag that off? Between that and the Sportscenter theme played by the band, it turned into high comedy.

[LASooner]

I would like to see the footage from the camera. That thing probably costs 100k and it's bouncing off the turf like basketball. Nobody at ESPN has wire cutters?

[Pricetag]

I was hoping the fans would give it an ovation as it drug itself off the field like they do for injured players.

[LRoss]

"Not great speed. . . ."

Best line of the night, by far.

[delhalew]

That was so crazy. That's such a dangerous scenario, I would have thought they never would allow that to happen. Somebody should catch hell for it.

[StoopTroup]

Those of you that went to the game....

Did the line break or did the Swaging on the line give out? I'm not sure how they secure those wires but I'm betting they start checking them all every now and then if the attachment gave out. If it wasn't attached well by someone, then I would bet they are fired....lol.

http://aeroassemblies.com/images/wirerope/endFittings.jpg

http://www.gweep.net/%7Eprefect/pubs/iqp/img16.png

[FirstandGoal]

Heh, I missed the band playing the Sportscenter theme the other night. :D

[Pricetag]

That was so crazy. That's such a dangerous scenario, I would have thought they never would allow that to happen. Somebody should catch hell for it.
I'm thinking the guy they showed on the sideline dropping the bombs was probably the one who will catch it.

[Jacie]

Thank god nobody was hurt from it. Why the hell did they drag that off?

That was a mystery. The thing is probably heavy but it can be held up by a man using only one hand so why didn't he just carry it off the field?

The fellow on the sideline, was he upseet it because of how the cam was dragged off the field or were there even more issues?

I also wondered if the wire that was dragging the cam was draped across fans in their seats.

[sooneredaco]

Sky Cam is a separate company from ESPN. It's based out of Broken Arrow. It's owned by some of the same people that own Winnercom a production company that has contracts with ESPN. So I'd be interested to see how this affects the relationship between the two.

[bluedogok]

That was a mystery. The thing is probably heavy but it can be held up by a man using only one hand so why didn't he just carry it off the field?

The fellow on the sideline, was he upseet it because of how the cam was dragged off the field or were there even more issues?

I also wondered if the wire that was dragging the cam was draped across fans in their seats.
I wouldn't think it wouldn't be all that light with the motors and stabilizers, also with the way the cable is threaded through it in two directions may make it more difficult to move by carrying it especially if the motors are still active. Not sure where the cables attach at Sun Devil Stadium but if they were from the very top the seats in the endzones were covered up and it looked like that the upper decks only had fans between the 20's or so.

[Jacie]

After further review . . .


Precautions to be used for cameras at bowl games

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP)—A review has determined a camera that fell from an overhead wire during the Insight Bowl was an isolated incident. (duh)

ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz said Sunday that the cause of the crashing camera during Friday night’s game has been addressed and extra precautions will be taken for the six remaining bowl games.

He said the Fiesta Bowl will not have an aerial camera Monday night because of a compressed schedule due to an NFL game at University of Phoenix Stadium on Sunday.

The overhead camera, operated by Oklahoma-based SkyCam, fell with 2:22 left in the Insight Bowl between Oklahoma and Iowa. The camera didn’t hit anyone, but Iowa receiver Marvin McNutt Jr. became tangled in the guide wire and sustained a minor cut on his arm.

[StoopTroup]

McNutt kinda went McNutts when that wire got on him.....lol

[cleller]

Oh my! Do you really think this was an accident? If the government can blow up all those buildings on 9/11, crashing this camera is child's play.
I bet we'll find the government was shorting Winnercomm stock (sky cam owners) for weeks before this.

[prrriiide]

Those of you that went to the game....

Did the line break or did the Swaging on the line give out? I'm not sure how they secure those wires but I'm betting they start checking them all every now and then if the attachment gave out. If it wasn't attached well by someone, then I would bet they are fired....lol.

99 times out of 100, when wire rope fails, it is at the point where it enters the swaging. That pinch point provides the location for the greatest amount of metal fatigue to occur. They certainly don't use new cabling for every game, so metal fatigue definitely becomes a factor. Also, it probably wasn't rigged specifically for that game.

However, the standard for overhead rigging is a 10x safety factor. If you have an object that weighs 100 pounds, you use wire rope rated at 1000 pounds static load at the longest point of the span. However, if there is even a remote possibility of a shock load being applied to the cabling, you increase the safety factor accordingly. So assuming that the rigger did his (or her) job correctly, then you have to assume that the cables were suffering from metal fatigue at the swaging point. Consider that 1/4" wire rope is rated at ~4300 pounds static load, and you get the idea that most likely the wire just gave up the ghost at the pinch point.

I'd be interested to know how long that particular rig had been in place in the stadium and over the course of how many games it had been stressed prior to failure.

[StoopTroup]

99 times out of 100, when wire rope fails, it is at the point where it enters the swaging. That pinch point provides the location for the greatest amount of metal fatigue to occur. They certainly don't use new cabling for every game, so metal fatigue definitely becomes a factor. Also, it probably wasn't rigged specifically for that game.

However, the standard for overhead rigging is a 10x safety factor. If you have an object that weighs 100 pounds, you use wire rope rated at 1000 pounds static load at the longest point of the span. However, if there is even a remote possibility of a shock load being applied to the cabling, you increase the safety factor accordingly. So assuming that the rigger did his (or her) job correctly, then you have to assume that the cables were suffering from metal fatigue at the swaging point. Consider that 1/4" wire rope is rated at ~4300 pounds static load, and you get the idea that most likely the wire just gave up the ghost at the pinch point.

I'd be interested to know how long that particular rig had been in place in the stadium and over the course of how many games it had been stressed prior to failure.


I totally agree with you as I have had to rig quite a few. I was betting they have been using that rig for a long long time.

[GottaHavePride]

That was a mystery. The thing is probably heavy but it can be held up by a man using only one hand so why didn't he just carry it off the field?

The fellow on the sideline, was he upseet it because of how the cam was dragged off the field or were there even more issues?

I also wondered if the wire that was dragging the cam was draped across fans in their seats.

I'm betting the camera tech who was blowing up on his headset was probably the SkyCam tech. He was most likely hauling *** to the field to et the camera off and some ESPN chucklehead said "it's still attached to the other wire, right? Just reel it in with that - it'll be OK dragging that ridiculously expensive equipment across the ground."

SkyCam guy was probably having a fit at whatever idiot decided to destroy his camera.