
Cedar Point roller coaster accident injures 7(June 6, 2011) - Seven people suffered minor injuries after two cars collided on the Wildcat roller coaster at Cedar Point theme park in Sandusky, Ohio. One car was stopped at the loading platform and the other was finishing its run.In May, 2008, a collision on the same ride left nine people with bruises and sprains. That accident happened when one car failed to roll past the initial incline and rolled backward into another car.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Girl, 11, dies after falling from Ferris wheel(June 4, 2011) - An 11-year-old girl died after falling from a Ferris wheel while on a school field trip at Morey's Piers in Wildwood, New Jersey.Witnesses said that the girl, who was riding alone, fell from her gondola when it was near the half-way point from the top of the 156-foot-tall ride, called the Great Wheel, and landed on a metal platform at the base of the ride. She was pronounced dead at a hospital 45 minutes later. The park closed for the night out of respect for the victim's family and issued a brief statement: "The Morey staff and family offer our thoughts and prayers to the family." The accident is under investigation. Early reports indicate that it was a freak accident, and that there are no mechanical faults with the ride, which passed a state inspection in March, as well as daily park inspections.
IN THE NEWS:
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Three children rescued from carnival ride(May 29, 2011) - At a carnival in Canton, Massachusetts, three children were left stranded atop a ride called the Roll-O-Plane after the ride stalled. Firefighters who were called to the scene stabilized the ride with ropes, then cut a chain, allowing them to bring all three riders to safety.
RELATED STORIES:
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Another inflatable slide topples; children injured(May 27, 2011) - Eight children were sent to a hospital after an inflatable slide toppled over at an elementary school in Lyons, Illinois. Some of the children fell as high as 15 feet and landed on asphault.The victims' injuries were not life-threatening.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Carnival workers fall from Ferris wheel; 1 killed(May 16, 2011) - A 42-year-old carnival worker was killed and another was hospitalized in critical condition after they fell from a Ferris wheel they were dismantling in Greensboro, North Carolina. Police suspect a broken safety cable may have caused the accident.The ride is owned by James H. Drew Exposition of Augusta, Georgia. The company issued this statement: "The Drew Exposition family is saddened by the loss of one of our workers and the injury of another. After our six day event at the Greensboro Youth Council's Carnival, the Seattle Wheel was being dismantled when two of our employees fell from the equipment being used to take the machine down." OSHA is investigating. Since 1985, at least 13 carnival workers have been killed while assembling or disassembling a Ferris wheel. UPDATE: The North Carolina Department of Labor cited Event Coordinators Inc. of Augusta, Georgia, for 12 serious safety violations in connection to this fatal accident. Fines ranged from $900 to $3,500 per violation and totaled $27,100. According to the labor department report, a fitting failed on a wire cable being used to take apart the ride.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Another inflatable goes flying; 6 injured(May 13, 2011) - In Tucson, Arizona, a whirlwind tossed an inflatable castle through the air and left it wrapped around a light pole. Six children were struck by parts of the attraction and suffered minor injuries.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Car derails from ride at NJ park; 3 injured(May 7, 2011) - At Storybrook Land amusement park in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, three people suffered minor injuries when the front car of the "Big Truck Ride" derailed as it made a turn. The riders were ejected from the car and fell about two feet to the ground. The car landed on its side.The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs is investigating.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chicago Tribune, 4/20/11
The park was closed while state inspectors are investigating.
According to rcdb.com, the ride, called Python Pit, reaches a top speed
of 15mph and has been operating since 1997.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The fact that the product has no emergency exit and can be opened only by a person outside of the
ball significantly heightens the risk of injury or death when a person inside the ball experiences
distress. Pre-existing medical conditions, such as heart, lung, or breathing issues, can be made worse
by use of this product.
An individual climbs into the large, see-through plastic ball; it is inflated with a blower through
the zipper opening; and the zipper is closed, making the ball air-tight. The ball, with the person
locked inside, then rolls around on a number of surfaces, including water, ice, or grass. The product
is most commonly used by children and is used mainly as a ride in amusement parks, carnivals, malls,
sporting events and other high-traffic areas. The product is also sold directly to the public for
personal use.
Several states have banned or refused to provide permits for rides that use this product. CPSC is
aware of two incidents involving this product. In one incident, a child was found unresponsive after
being inside the ball for a very brief period of time, and emergency medical treatment was sought. In
the second incident, a person inside of a ball suffered a fracture when the ball fell out of the shallow,
above-ground pool onto the hard ground.
CPSC is warning consumers that there is a combination of risks associated with this product, including
the potential for suffocation, as well as the potential for drowning and impact injuries. Because the
ball is airtight, an inadequate air supply can result when oxygen is depleted and carbon dioxide accumulates
inside the ball. Such a dangerous scenario can occur in as little as a few minutes. Because the water
walking balls have no padding, impact injuries can occur if the balls collide with each other, or fall
out of the pool onto concrete or other hard surfaces, such as ice or tile. These water walking balls
are also being used on open water, creating the potential for injuries if the ball is struck by a boat
or strikes a solid object, such as a buoy or pier. Additionally, the balls present a high risk of drowning
if there is a leak or a puncture.
CPSC has informed state amusement ride officials of the risks associated with this product and encourages
state officials not to permit this ride in their state.
CPSC does not know of any safe way to use this product.
The CPSC is interested in receiving incident or injury reports that are either directly related to this
product or involve a different hazard with the same product.
Visit saferproducts.gov for more information.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Scorpion is owned and operated by North American Midway Entertainment. The ride consists of three arms.
At the end of each arm is a wheel-like structure that carries 8 cars. As the arms whirl, they tilt
the wheels of cars up into the air, as the wheels spin and the cars swing. One of the wheels broke
off its arm, fell off the ride platform, and crashed into a barrier. Some cars flipped over and fell
to the platform where the whirling cars that were still attached to the the ride crashed into them.
According to North American Midway Entertainment (NAME), the ride passed an inspection just hours before
the catastrophic failure. Nevertheless, NAME general manager Tony Diaz says that the company has "full faith"
in its inspectors, and the Calgary Stampede says that it has not lost confidence in NAME.
Excerpts from the engineer's report are listed below.
Review of the available background information revealed that fatigue cracks had previously been found
at the failure location. Normal industry practice would be to completely grind out the crack and
re-weld the joint. However, these cracks had been improperly repaired by simply welding over the
crack. The repair was so poorly done that [the] original crack still remained and portions of the
crack extended beyond the end of the repair. As a result, the repair welds failed and the fatigue
cracks continued to extend further into the welded flange-to-barrel joint.
Manufacturer recommended inspections of amusement rides are to be carried out by the owner
to discover fatigue cracks before they grow to the extent that sudden catastrophic failures
occur. Once there was a known incidence of cracking at a spinner hub flange-to-barrel joint,
it was important for the owner to instruct their inspectors to carefully examine this area
on all subsequent inspections. These particular inspections were not performed on this
Scorpion ride. Apparently, the owner's inspections subsequent to the weld repair did not look
at the failure area very closely, if at all. Otherwise, the owner's inspectors would have found
at least portions of the original crack that extended beyond the weld repair. By the time the
incident occurred, almost two years after the repair, a crack had extended almost completely
around the barrel. This crack could have been seen had the owner performed a visual inspection of
the joint.
In performing repairs, the owner of the Scorpion ride did not consult with the manufacturer
as recommended in the operation and maintenance manual nor did he consult with a knowledgeable
engineer/technologist. After a faulty repair was complete, it appears that the owner never made
any attempt to direct any inspector's attention to the repair area in order to check the adequacy
of the repair or if other cracks were developing. As a result, cracks developed and grew undetected
to the point of joint failure.
Failures of this nature could have been prevented if the owner followed the manufacturer's
recommended inspection criteria. When cracks were found during the owner's routine inspection,
repair procedures and verification should have been developed and approved by a professional
engineer or suitably qualified individual. Their instructions would normally include the owner
to carry out additional inspections to insure that cracks were no longer a threat to the integrity
of the ride. Henceforth, the owner would be obliged to carry out these additional inspections
along with those recommended by the manufacturer.
This incident would not have occurred if the original crack was assessed by a qualified engineer
who would have recognized it as a fatigue crack. Once recognized as a fatigue crack, steps could
have been taken to combat the effects of fatigue. The owner's inspection requirements would
necessarily increase and include non-destructive testing so that the cracked component could be
repaired or replaced before reaching a critical state.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The man struck a passerby as he fell to the ground; the passerby suffered a broken ankle.
The ride is owned by Ray Cammack Shows. It passed an inspection before it opened in Houston, and no defects were reported.
The accident is under investigation.
READ:
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
GoUpstate.com, May 23, 2011
Ride inspector in fatal train crash case issued 1 citation
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Despite the statement from the conductor, police say that the investigation is ongoing, and no conclusion has been made as to what
factors may have contributed to the accident.
"We cannot analyze the entire incident based on a single uttered statement. At this point we have not reached a conclusion as to the
technical or mechanical findings of the investigation. The statement, while important to the investigation, does not provide conclusive
evidence of the actual speed or the functionally of the train or tracks."
The train, named Sparky the Family Train, is designed to operate at a maximum speed of only 10mph.
The accident happened on the train's first run of the year.
Two medical helicopters and numerous ambulances responded to the scene. At least six children were hospitalized, but all were expected to
make a full recovery.
According to the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, the ride was scheduled to be inspected three days before the
accident by a state inspector, however that inspector could not inspect the ride because its battery was dead. Nevertheless, the inspector
documented that he had inspected the ride and indicated that it was running properly. State officials have since fired the inspector who approved the
ride for operation. They said that he admitted falsifying the inspection report.
Spartanburg Public Safety Captain Art Littlejohn cautioned that the investigation is still in its early phase, and no conclusions should
be made until investigators have examined all the evidence.
"The investigation of this tragedy continues. We are continuing to utilize resources from a variety of agencies to ensure a comprehensive investigation.
Every effort is being made to determine the events prior to the derailment and the contributing factors. The investigation is also focusing on whether this
incident was caused by mechanical failure or human error.
"We are currently reviewing all reports, statements, 911 recordings, and an amateur video. Contrary to media reports, we have not identified any information
that suggests the accident was the result of sabotage.
"Once all information is reviewed, the Spartanburg Public Safety Department will compile a comprehensive report which will include the accident reconstruction
from the Highway Patrol. A report of all findings will be given to Solicitor Barry Barnette for review. All local media outlets will be notified once the
investigation is completed."
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Second death on Disney World's Primeval Whirl ride as worker dies after being struck on head - Daily Mail | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tokyo Police are investigating reports that the victim may have too large to ride; that the victim's lap bar did not
lock properly because of his size; that the ride operator did not manually check to ensure that the safety bar was locked;
and that employees did not receive proper training.
According to investigators, the ride operator, a part-time employee, said that she did not manually check the victim's
lap bar because it "appeared to be locked as it was positioned right on his stomach." The ride's lap bars are designed
to rest and lock across riders' legs. Normally, a lap bar is not effective as a restraining device if it rests upon a
rider's stomach, even if it is locked. Police suspect that the victim exceeded the size limit of a rider, and that
he should not have been allowed to ride.
According to the Daily Yomiuri, the ride operator told police: "I told passengers to lock the safety bars, but I
didn't confirm [whether they were in the correct position] with my hand. I thought customers would lock [the bars]
by themselves because they're grownups."
The report also indicates that the operator was quoted as saying, "At the time of the accident I was looking at
a staff assignment sheet, so I didn't monitor the roller coaster operation at all."
The ride has been ordered closed while police continue their investigation.
MORE: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Return to RideAccidents.com |