http://www.rideaccidents.com/
Girl's feet severed on Superman Tower of Power at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom(Thursday, June 21, 2007) - At Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville, Kentucky, a 13-year-old girl had both of her legs severed above the ankles while she was riding the Superman Tower of Power freefall ride.
Superman Tower of Power is 177 feet tall. Its gondola is lifted upwards 12 mph to a height of 157 feet. When the gondola is dropped, it reaches a top speed of 54 miles per hour, and riders experience momentary freefall. The ride's braking system engages 20 feet from the ground, slowing the gondola to a stop.
According to one eyewitness account reported to WHAS-TV News, a cable snapped as the gondola dropped, and wrapped around the girl's legs.
The ride was manufactured by
Intamin AG of Switzerland
and opened at the park in 1995
http://www.rideaccidents.com/1999.html
Six Flags park installs seat belts on Giant Drop ride(Wednesday, September 1, 1999) - Six Flags Great America theme park in Gurnee, Illinois has installed seat belts on its Giant Drop free-fall ride. The ride is identical to the Drop Zone free-fall ride at Paramount's Great America in Santa Clara, California. Two weeks ago, a 12-year-old boy was killed after he fell out of the Drop Zone. It is not yet known how the boy fell out of his car.
The Giant Drop and Drop Zone rides are already equipped with shoulder harnesses. Representatives from
Intamin AG,
the designer of the rides, have said that the Drop Zone was operating properly when the accident happened.
http://www.rideaccidents.com/2001.html#sep25
Intamin says 'Plunge' is safe; riders say seat belts were not checked(Thursday, September 25, 2001) - Intamin AG, the Swiss manufacturer of Knott's Berry Farm's Perilous Plunge water chute, says that it has inspected the ride and has concluded that it is in safe operating condition. Officials from Intamin were called to the California theme park after a woman was killed in a 100-foot fall from the ride on Friday.
Meanwhile, at least three passengers who were in the same boat as the victim say that ride operators did not check to make sure that the seat belts of riders on the left side of the boat had been fastened before the ride began. The victim was sitting on the left side of the boat.
Witnesses also claim that, at one point during the ride, the victim had turned around in her seat to talk to riders sitting in the row behind her. Intamin says that riders who are properly seated and secured by the ride's restraint system would not be able to turn around in their seats.
Susan Tierney, spokeswoman for Knott's Berry Farm, denies that operators were negligent.
"Our employees have assured us that they followed the procedures, and we completely stand behind them."
The fatality was the park's second this month. On September 1, a 20-year-old woman collapsed during her ride on the park's Montezuma's Revenge roller coaster and went into full cardiac arrest. She was rushed to a hospital where she died from a ruptured brain aneurysm hours later.
http://www.rideaccidents.com/2001.html#sep25
Intamin: Perilous Plunge rider was too big for restraints(Tuesday, October 23, 2001) - Intamin AG, the manufacturer of Knott's Berry Farm's Perilous Plunge water chute ride, says that the 40-year-old woman who was killed in a fall from the ride last month was too large for the safety restraint system to work properly.
"If the [seat belt] is not closed because there is an obese belly in front of it, and the seat belt can't be put around the waist and pulled tight, I don't know what to say. Basically, you build a restraint system suitable for most of the people who go to the park," says Intamin president Sandor Kernacs.
A report by the Orange County coroner's office reports that the woman weighed 292 pounds, had a 58-inch abdomen, and that her hips were about 50 inches around. Kernacs says that the seat belts on the ride only extend about 50 inches around.
The woman was thrown from the ride on September 21 and fell about 100 feet to her death.
The attorney representing the woman's family says that no one warned the victim that the ride was not designed for obese people.
Perilous Plunge remains closed as the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration continues its investigation.
The accident marks the third time since 1999 that a rider was ejected from an Intamin-made ride. On August 22, 1999, a 12-year-old boy was killed when he fell from Intamin's Drop Zone Stunt Tower freefall ride at Paramount's Great America theme park in Santa Clara, California. An investigation into his death yielded no explanation as to why he fell from the ride. Another accident on May 16, 1999 involved a 37-year-old man who was injured when he was ejected from Intamin's Superman Ride of Steel roller coaster at Six Flags Darien Lake theme park in Darien Center, New York. The man weighed over 300 pounds.
http://www.rideaccidents.com/2001.html#sep25
Cedar Fair, Intamin sued in Perilous Plunge death(Tuesday, October 10, 2001) - The family of the woman who was killed in a fall from the Perilous Plunge water ride at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California last month is suing the park's owner, Cedar Fair, and the
manufacturer of the ride, Intamin,
accusing them of negligence. The lawsuit alleges that the companies were aware of potential dangers which the ride posed to guests and that they failed to take steps to reduce risks to riders.
The ride remains closed.
http://www.rideaccidents.com/2004.html#apr15
Accident on Cedar Point's Top Thrill Dragster injures riders(Monday, July 14, 2004) - At Cedar Point park in Sandusky Ohio, four people were struck by flying debris while riding the Top Thrill Dragster roller coaster. Reports indicate that the ride's metal cable frayed as the train was being launched. Shards of metal then sheered off the cable and struck the riders as the train reached speeds of up to 120 miles per hour.
The injured were left with cuts and minor injuries. Some riders also complained of minor burns caused by an oily substance.
The injured riders were treated at the park's first aid station, and two of them sought further medical attention at a hospital.
The ride has been shut down indefinitely.
Top Thrill Dragster is the world's tallest and fastest roller coaster. It was designed and manufactured
by Intamin of Switzerland.
http://www.rideaccidents.com/2004.html#apr15
Intamin's Superman The Escape and Xcelerator roller coasters closed in California
(Tuesday, June 1, 2004) - Two popular roller coasters in California are shut down after state officials asked park operators to close them and modify their rider restraint systems. Knott's Berry Farm has agreed to close its Xcelerator roller coaster, and Six Flags Magic Mountain has agreed to close its Superman: The Escape roller coaster. The action comes in the wake of recent investigations into fatalities involving rides manufactured by Swiss designer Intamin. Both Xcelerator and Superman: The Escape are Intamin-made rides and are equipped with a similar restraint system to those that have been the focus of the separate investigations.
Intamin's T-shaped safety restraint bar -- used on both California rides -- was recently banned by the Massachusetts Department of Public Safety after an investigation into a fatality involving Intamin's Superman Ride of Steel roller coaster at Six Flags New England theme park in Agawam, Massachusetts. In addition, a similar restraint device was deemed "clearly inadequate" by California safety officials in 2001 after their own investigation into a fatality involving Knott's Berry Farm's "Perilous Plunge," an Intamin-made water chute ride. Another Intamin ride is the subject of an ongoing investigation in Wales after a 16-year-old girl suffered a fatal fall from another chute ride called Hydro in April.
A spokesman for the California Department of Occupational Safety and Health says that the parks were asked to keep the rides closed until safety modifications can be made. The action marks the first time that California officials have asked parks to close a ride in response to out-of-state incidents, and the first time the state has ordered changes on rides which have not been involved in accidents.
Officials at Knott's and Magic Mountain say that they will follow the state's recommendations. They say they are unsure as to how long the process will take.
Intamin's Superman Ride of Steel roller coasters at Six Flags New England, Six Flags America in Largo, Maryland, and Six Flags Darien Lake in New York reopened last weekend after the parks modified those rides' safety restraint systems in accordance with the findings of the Massachusetts Department of Public Safety. Those modifications took about one month to complete.
IN MY OPINION, Intamin AG of Switzerland
SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED.MANY OF THESE
RIDES SHOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN DESIGNED IN
SUCH A FASHION SO WHEN THEY FAIL, PEOPLE
DIE OR ARE INJURED. WHY ARE PARKS ALLOWED
TO STILL PURCHASE RIDES FROM THIS COMPANY?
ALSO, STATES SHOULD MAKE AVAILABLE TO RIDERS
THE ACCIDENT HISTORY OF RIDE MANUFACTURERS
AND THE RIDES SHOULD DISPLAY OPENLY THE
MANUFACTURER TO RIDERS.
Friday, June 22, 2007
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