Scary elevator ride today, what happened?

Question

As I was stepping into an elevator from the 10th floor it ascended about a foot then quickly leveled back to the floor. One foot was in the elevator the other was out of the elevator. It scared the c**p out of me.

Wasn't there a potential for a really bad accident? I thought elevators couldn't move when the doors were opened? I waited for another elevator (there was 4). The other elevator was fine.

Answer 1

The elevator door interlock may have malfunctioned.This caused the elevator up/down motor to run

Answer 2

there is a problem with the brake and safety system. The elevator is supposed to lock movement when the door is open. It means all the dynamic possibilites should be stationary. There shouldnt be any current for it to move. You should report it  

Answer 3

There is not enough info to correctly determine the fault by your description.  If it was a hydraulic elevator, it may have been re-leveling, which is possible with the doors open (though it should only move a couple inches at most).  If it was a traction (cable) elevator it could have been a problem with the mg set compounding or possibly the brake not holding at the floor.  In either case, you did the right thing to not ride it and notify the building.

Answer 4

It all depends on what type of elevator you were entering and what safety features they use, there are 2 main types of elevator, Hydraulic, and Cable operated, some use photo electric sensors and some use micro switches, I'm guessing that there was some dirt on one of the sensors and the elevator glitched  

Answer 5

must be an old one  

Answer 6

Probably just a malfunction in the elevator.