State Department of Commerce officials released a report on Thursday that blames operator error for the accident that injured a girl at the Extreme World amusement park in Wisconsin
Dells last month.
State officials said that the ride was properly registered and had been inspected annually since it was approved for construction in 2001. Instead of something mechanical,
officials said in the report that their investigation points to mistakes by the operator at the top of the ride as the likely cause of the accident.
The report said that all witness statements and information from the law enforcement said that Marti was released from the ride's cage before it had reached its top position
and before the safety net was in its proper position.
Officials said that as the cage with the injured girl started to ascend, the operator on the ground "stopped it to put more air in the tubes that form the outside of the net." They said as
the tubes were being filled, the operator at the top of the ride opened the bottom of the cage and prepared the girl for the dive. The operator then released Marti, not realizing
that the cage hadn't reached the top of the ride or that the net wasn't in place.
Officials said that based on their examination, they don't believe hand signals were used between the two operators. They said that ride protocol states "hand signals are to be
used between the operator at the bottom of the ride and the operator at the top of the ride to check and to verify that the cage is at the top before a dive is executed."
We're looking to get the report and will make it available once we have it.
Posted at 7:55 PM
Wednesday, September 1st, 2010
State Amusement Ride Agencies
There’s been some feedback from various state amusement ride agencies, with feedback falling into two categories:
1. Can you help? There have been some agencies who have asked for assistance with various accidents or if we have any information pertaining to the safety of a ride.
2. Give us your information. There are various state agencies that believe we owe it to the public to release all injury information for ride injuries and issues within their
state. In essence, they want us to do their job.
First off, we’re here to help. As the saying goes: “knowledge is power.” For a state agency to tell us that we need to hand over all information so they can do their jobs –
well that’s irresponsible.
California and New Jersey come to mind when thinking about agencies who think they're owed information because of who they are.
Click the "State Agencies" link on the side bar for more information on your state. Also read Jason Herrera's Injury Blog post on
reporting amusement park accidents. That, too, located on the side bar.
Posted at 7:00 AM
Tuesday, August 31st, 2010
Consumer Safety Alerts & More Safety News
The Hades roller coaster at Mount Olympus Water and Theme Park -- another independent park roller coaster dishing out some painful rides.
The injuries submitted to ASO center around back related injuries. With only two of them involving stomach pain. This due to the ride's restraint
being forced into their stomach.
Hades Roller Coaster
ID#
Issue
Ride/Type
Operator
Summary
10-0826
Back / Stomach
Hades / Wooden
Mount Olympus Water and Theme Park
Rider indicates that she sustained back pain after riding roller coaster. Went on to indicate that the rough nature of the ride caused
stomach pain due to restraint being forced into her stomach.
10-0825
Back
Hades / Wooden
Mount Olympus Water and Theme Park
Rider indicates back pain after riding roller coaster. Went on to indicate he was in the last row of the roller coaster train.
Orlando Parks Report Injuries
Two of Orlando's newest roller coasters
recorded multiple rider injuries during the second quarter of the year, according to updated filings from Florida's big theme parks. At Universal Orlando, a 36-year-old man
and a 45-year-old woman each experienced back pain after rides on the year-old Hollywood Rip Ride Rock it coaster at Universal Studios Florida.
Interesting that Busch Gardens did not report any injuries -- their Gwazi roller coaster is one of the roughest wooden roller
coasters out there. Back and neck injuries being the most common type of injury.
Disney's Expedition Everest Resumes Operation After Shutdown
Ride safety at the
Colorado State Fair is taken very seriously by everyone involved. Crabtree Amusements owns the carnival and operates it. Their employees inspect every ride daily, according to the
president of the company, Patrick Crabtree. "Maintenance and safety, that's just an ongoing process, it's something that never quits, it's always going," Crabtree said.
The quote below is a typical amusement industry reply and not entirely accurate. There are also a good amount of accidents
due to ride operator error and lack of training, but of course Mr. Crabtree "forgot to mention that."
According to Crabtree, the majority of injuries, large and small,
carnivals like the one at the State Fair see are a result of human error on the part of the riders.
Many people become injured simply by not enjoying the ride as it
was meant to be enjoyed, he said. Horseplay, shifting in their seats to look behind them, even trying to give
the person they're with a kiss, have all been the cause for injuries in the past.
Poltergeist Roller Coaster - Six Flags Fiesta Texas
Minnesota State Fair Rider Safety
Here's an interesting
blog entry from lawyer, Mike Bryant, over on Injury Board who visited the Minnesota State Fair. See the comments section
for a post from ASO's Jason Herrera regarding an accident that occurred in 2006. It's a case of rider
point of view vs. fair safety inspector point of view.
Posted at 7:05 AM from Orlando, Florida
Friday, August 27th, 2010
Ideas?
While we do not believe in ranking rides – we have consumer feedback asking for a ranking system to zero in on the
worse rides with regard to injury. So of course we’ve been entertaining the idea, but we do not want to turn this into a popularity contest.
You the consumer want this, but how would you like it done? What do you want to see? Ideas, people...
Contact us and tell us about it!
Have a great weekend and thanks for reading Amusement Safety Organization!
