It was longest cigarette break of Nicholas White's life.
The 34-year-old New York production manager was working late one Friday night in October when he went outside for a smoke.
He was returning to his office on the 39th floor when the elevator stopped abruptly between floors. White pressed the alarm, letting it ring and ring. But at 11 p.m. the building was deserted, and it would be nearly two days before White was rescued.
He paced around the elevator like a bug trapped in a box, fighting claustrophobia every minute of his 41-hour ordeal, which was captured on a video surveillance camera.
"After a certain amount of time I knew I was in big trouble," White told "Good Morning America" in an exclusive interview.
He had no watch, no cell phone, no food or water. His only sustenance was a pack of Rolaids.
"Rolaids aren't a very good meal," White said.
The the most difficult part of the ordeal, he said, was going 41 hours without water. At one point, White thought he might die of dehydration.
He relieved himself by opening the elevator doors a bit and urinating down the elevator shaft.
It's a bit disturbing actually, watch the Youtube first, then there is an interview with him on Good Morning America.
YouTube - TRAPPED IN AN ELEVATOR FOR 41 HOURS
ABC News: Elevator Hell: Trapped for 41 Hours