Try to survive, and don't press the wrong button

A jolt, a clunk, and the elevator stops. Somewhere between the fourth and fifth floor. The lights flicker, the music dies and suddenly that small metal box feels a lot smaller. Good news first: elevators are one of the safest ways to travel. Being stuck is mostly boring and uncomfortable, not dangerous. As long as you don't make it dangerous yourself.

Press the right button

Look for the alarm or emergency call button, usually a bell or a phone icon. Press it and hold it for a few seconds. Most elevators connect you straight to someone who can send help. Got signal? Call the building's emergency number or the emergency services, and tell them exactly where you are: the address, which elevator and roughly which floor.

💡Tip: try the "door open" button once. If you happen to be stopped right at a floor, the doors might just open. If they don't, leave the rest of the buttons alone.

Never climb out

In the movies, people force the doors open or climb out through the ceiling. In real life, that's how people get hurt. The elevator can suddenly start moving while you're halfway out. So don't try to open the doors yourself and don't try to climb out. Just wait: the technicians or the fire department will get you out.

💡Tip: that hatch in the ceiling is meant for rescuers, not for you. It's usually locked from the outside anyway.

Waiting it out

You won't run out of air: elevators aren't airtight, and there's plenty of ventilation. Sit down on the floor, that's the safest spot if the elevator moves suddenly. Save your phone battery, you might need it later. Feeling panicky or claustrophobic? Breathe in slowly for four seconds, hold for four, breathe out for four. Talk to the others in there, or to the person on the intercom. Time goes a lot faster when you're not alone with your thoughts.

💡Tip: it almost always takes longer than you'd like, but help is coming. Most people are out within an hour.

Myths that get people killed

Before you step in

It's an elevator, not an expedition. But a few small habits make getting stuck a lot less stressful.

• Keep your phone charged, especially if you use elevators every day.
• Next time you step into an elevator, look where the alarm button is, so you don't have to search for it in the dark.
• Notice the number or name plate of the elevators you use a lot. It helps rescuers find the right one.
• Keep a small bottle of water in your bag, and a snack if you have diabetes or low blood sugar.
• Does an elevator make strange noises, or stop a little above or below the floor? Take the stairs and report it.
• Never use an elevator during an earthquake. Always take the stairs.

Real story: the longest elevator fall ever survived

On July 28, 1945, a US Army bomber flew into the Empire State Building in thick fog. Elevator operator Betty Lou Oliver was badly hurt in the crash. Rescuers put her in another elevator to take her down, but the crash had damaged its cables, and they snapped.

The elevator fell about 75 floors. Incredibly, she survived. The broken cables had piled up at the bottom of the shaft and worked like a spring, and the air pressed together under the falling car slowed it down a little. It's still the longest elevator fall anyone is known to have survived. Five months later, she was back at the Empire State Building, and took the elevator to the top.

💡Tip: her story is famous because it's so rare. Today's elevators are one of the safest ways to travel, and getting stuck is almost always just boring.

Did you know?

In 1999, Nicholas White went down for a cigarette break in a New York office building and got stuck in an elevator. He stayed there for 41 hours, over an entire weekend, with no food and no water. Security cameras filmed the whole thing, but nobody was watching. He survived, and his story is still one of the most famous elevator incidents ever. You can load his exact situation in the elevator calculator.