History Main / ElevatorFailure

* During "Elevator Madness" in ''[[Pinball/WHODunnit WHO dunnit]]'', the game shows a plummeting elevator car.

* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheNewMrPeabodyAndShermanShow'' opens with the elevator door breaking during the opening, trapping Mr. Peabody inside and leaving Sherman to host the show by himself. The janitor tries to fix it, but this just inexplicably makes the walls of the elevator close in crushing Mr. Peabody.

* A RunningGag of ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' is Gibbs using the elevator as a meeting room, pressing the force-stop button to trap whoever he wants to have a difficult conversation with in between floors. Of the more traditional variety, Ziva and [=McGee=] are trapped together after the city suffers a blackout in "Power Down," which is PlayedForLaughs as Ziva becomes increasingly annoyed with him. Ziva is trapped in the elevator again in "Extreme Prejudice" after an attack on the Navy Yard, this time with [[LoveInterest Tony,]] which is played for ShipTease.

* Ziva and [=McGee=] are trapped in the ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' episode "Power Down".

* ''Film/{{Anon}}''. The killer, who is a master hacker, hacks into the eye implants of the detective and torments him with hallucinations. At one point the detective is about to step into an elevator, only to realise just in time the doors have opened on an empty elevator shaft.

* The WashingtonMetro subway system has more than 70 stations, each having one or more elevators. Almost all the time, every single day of the year, at least 1 to 3 elevators are out of service somewhere in the system, either because of breakdowns or maintenance. They have regular shuttles on standby for the disabled and elderly persons who can't use escalators or stairs.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs'' episode "Skyscraper Smurfs", Brainy and Hefty both board an elevator of the smurfominium that Handy and Architect both had built together, but as they go up, the elevator stalls and the control lever snaps off. Brainy panics and bangs on the door, wanting to get out. Hefty tries to calm his friend down, saying that somebody will come along and help them. Brainy decides to pass the time reading the books he was transporting on the elevator, which makes Hefty panic and bang on the door. Over time, Hefty develops claustrophobia and breaks out of the elevator window, jumping over to the branch of a nearby tree to escape.

* ''VideoGame/VampireTheMasqueradeBloodlines'': In the [[HellHotel Ocean House Hotel]] quest, a malevolent ghost {{Invoke|dTrope}}s this on the PlayerCharacter when they investigate the bottom of the elevator shaft, forcing them to dodge an automatic FinalDeath from above.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHXxHje_Ezc An elevator in a highrise fails,]] and an aftershock knocks it off the rails, causing it to plummet, killing the passengers. The fake blood at the end makes this a hilarious moment.

May lead to BornInAnElevator. Can also be used as a way to relieve sexual tension, especially if two people who seem to be incompatible share a big kiss!

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' had this in [[spoiler: Balamb Garden during the evacuation]] and your party had to use the hatch on the bottom to advance [[spoiler: The elevator will fall down immediately after they leave.]]
* In ''VideoGame/HalfLife1'', an elevator carrying some scientists falls, carrying them to their deaths. Elevator failures happen in other parts of the game as well.
** Barney Calhoun is assigned to fix one in '' [[VideoGame/HalfLifeBlueShift Blue Shift]]''. Go ahead, take a guess to what happens when he does.

In fact, the inspection certificate has to be publicly posted in the elevator itself, usually behind a glass frame (to keep the certificate clean and to prevent someone from stealing it, and) so anyone seeing it can see that it was inspected during the last 12 months. In fact, you should be very wary if you've entered an elevator where you notice the inspection certificate is missing or expired.

* An early episode of ''WesternAnimation/LittlestPetShop2012'' has Blythe, Zoe, Minka and Pepper stuck inside the dumbwaiter connecting Blythe's bedroom to the shop when their combined weight causes it to get stuck. Their main problems while in the dumbwaiter are Zoe and Pepper growing to resent each other and Minka falling to PTSD from being reminded of her [[ApesInSpace time in space]].

** Barney Calhoun is assigned to fix one in '' [[VideoGame/HalfLifeBlueShift Blue Shift]] ''. Go ahead, take a guess to what happens when he does.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

** In "Basic Training", Dr. Claw programs an elevator that Gadget is riding to plunge down to the bottom of the shaft, where SpikesOfDoom have been set up. Penny sees that the elevator is going too fast and uses her computer book to reverse it. Dr. Claw and Penny continue to send the elevator up and down the shaft repeatedly, until Penny finally overide's Claw's controls and disables the spikes.

** Barney Calhoun is assigned to fix one in ''Blue Shift''. Go ahead, take a guess to what happens when he does.

* ''Series/{{Probe}}'': In the episode "Now You See It...", two businessmen fall to their deaths in elevator shafts. It turns out [[spoiler:the culprit tampered the elevators to stop the cabs in the wrong floor, and used [[{{hologram}} holographic projectors]] to make his victims believe the cabs were there.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo'' had this happen to the boys in "Caged Tiger" when they are called to fight crime due to [[30SecondBlackout a brief power surge]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo'' had this happen to the boys in "Caged Tiger" when they are called to fight crime.

* ''VideoGame/ParasiteEve'' has a scene where Aya takes an elevator to go to the top floor of the hospital. The elevator barely goes up a floor or two when [[BigBad Eve]] announces her presence and cuts the cables, causing the elevator to fall to the basement. Luckily for Aya, it's not a long fall and she survives. Unluckily for her, Eve also cuts the power to the whole hospital to prevent her from using the other elevator.

* Arthur Hailey's ''Literature/{{Hotel}}'' culminates with a poorly maintained hotel elevator falling down, ''snapping in two'' and dropping some of the passengers through the hole to injury or death.

* In ''VideoGame/QuakeIV'', you are riding an elevator down an extremely tall tower in what is essentially an interactive {{Cutscene}}. The gigantic flying Network Guardian shows up and starts attacking the elevator to prevent you from reaching your goal. Nothing they do seems to be working until they use their weight to grab onto the elevator and cause it to start falling uncontrollably until it crashes into your destination.