BDG Posted October 3, 2006 Share Posted October 3, 2006 A man, who was riding the Ejection Seat at the Tulsa State Fair, got more than he bargained for when one of the bungee cords snapped. Witnesses say they heard a loud popping noise, and when they turned they saw the man on this ride swinging from post to post. He almost landed practically upside down, dangling 30 feet above the ground. http://www.kotv.com/pages/catimages/Bungee-Rescue-1-100306.jpg Tulsa firefighters rode on an elevated platform to get high enough to secure the ride. Finally, they pulled the rider to safety feet first. The district chief says the rider walked away with only a skinned leg and a few cuts and bruises. The amusement park inspector told the News on 6 the bungee cords on these types of rides are good for 2,000 jumps. They say this particular company changes the cords after just 400 jumps. Source: http://www.kotv.com/news/local/story/?id=112056 Video (rescue only): http://www.kotv.com/e-clips/?id=3621 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shavethewhales Posted October 3, 2006 Share Posted October 3, 2006 oh man, and to think, I was really tempted to ride that too... good thing the high prices scared me away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoasterCrazy Posted October 3, 2006 Share Posted October 3, 2006 This is one of the reasons why I will never ride a Slingshot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobbesx2 Posted October 3, 2006 Share Posted October 3, 2006 Holy *insert random word here*! I rode one of those twice on the Eilat boardwalk and it was fun as hell with tons of ejector airtime and stuffs! The guy there ensured us that it was perfectly safe! Not that I really believed him anyway. I feel sorry for that poor inverse bungee jump . Oh yah and also for that sideways dude. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesdillaman Posted October 3, 2006 Share Posted October 3, 2006 They sound safe to me: The bungee snapped and the man WALKED AWAY with only scrapes and bruises. It was an accident, and the injuries could have been much worse if the ride didn't act properly like it was designed to in the event of a failure. I loathe how whenever there's an ACCIDENT people say "OMG it isn't safe! Never ride these rides!" I chalk this one up to the law of averages until I hear otherwise. -James Dillaman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HCOSurfer90 Posted October 3, 2006 Share Posted October 3, 2006 ^I agree, it didnt look TOO bad. I'd still ride one. Just because one snaps, doesnt mean every other one will too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted October 3, 2006 Share Posted October 3, 2006 Wait, from the picture I can't tell...is this a Cable Ejection Seat, or the older Bungee Kind? Also the article obviously isn't right since it talks about bungee jumping, and not this actual ride! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesdillaman Posted October 3, 2006 Share Posted October 3, 2006 The media? making a mistake? No, the ride obviously is a bungee jump, as the media knows all and is never wrong. -James Dillaman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calaway Park Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 Seriousely, people are overreacting WAY too much about this, simply because of the type of the ride. It can happen to ANY ride but because this one is ran by bungee cords it's much more dangerous . This is the first time I've EVER heard about this happening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
okinawaboy11 Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 because this one is ran by bungee cords it's much more dangerous What do they usually run by? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calaway Park Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 because this one is ran by bungee cords it's much more dangerous What do they usually run by? I meant "this one" as in "this ride." It can happen to ANY ride but because this one is ran by bungee cords it's much more dangerous . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DATman Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 ^He meant what other cords are normally used. "What are they (they being all Slingshot type rides) usually run by (what type of cable)?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jew Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 They sound safe to me: The bungee snapped and the man WALKED AWAY with only scrapes and bruises. It was an accident, and the injuries could have been much worse if the ride didn't act properly like it was designed to in the event of a failure. I loathe how whenever there's an ACCIDENT people say "OMG it isn't safe! Never ride these rides!" I chalk this one up to the law of averages until I hear otherwise. -James Dillaman According to the first post a cord good for 2,000 "ejections" snapped after no more than 400 "ejections," and there's not a problem? Is this a rare occurence that normally doesn't happen? Sure, but that hardly means that something wasn't wrong and that particular ride wasn't operating under unsafe conditions either... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesdillaman Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 It does say the cable snapped, but it does not say why. I'm sure it will be looked into, but accidents do happen. I think all the bungee's should be examined of course, but just because one snapped after only 400 "ejections" doesn't mean they all will. That's why it's caled an accident. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterviper Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 Seriousely, people are overreacting WAY too much about this, simply because of the type of the ride. It can happen to ANY ride but because this one is ran by bungee cords it's much more dangerous . This is the first time I've EVER heard about this happening. From Rideaccidents.com RELATED STORIES -- BUNGEE/REVERSE BUNGEE RIDES: # Broken harness blamed for bungee ride death in Canada (8/24/98 ) # Bungee rides close in New Jersey; designer, inspector fined $20,000 (10/29/98 ) # Canadian officials charge bungee ride company, owner (1/20/99) # Owner of fatal bungee ride admits he altered ride after inspection (11/27/99) # Anderson Ventures found guilty in Rocket Launcher death (2/22/00) # Anderson Ventures fined a record $145,000 for Rocket Launcher death (4/25/00) # Man falls 300 feet to his death in bungee ride accident (5/15/00) # Mobile bungee rides banned in Ontario (7/5/00) # Bungee ride malfunctions at Daytona Beach; 2 injured (7/21/00) # One dead, one injured in bungee ride accident (6/3/01) # Bungee cord snaps on Texas thrill ride; 2 injured (7/29/01) # Bungee jump accident kills 2 in Italy (5/1/02) # Ejection Seat cable snaps at Oregon carnival (6/9/02) # Fairground worker killed in Slingshot accident (8/4/02) # Slingshot ride cable snaps at Ohio State Fair, stranding riders (8/5/02) # Man killed in 180-foot fall after bungee cord disengages (8/26/02) # Girl, 14, killed in bungee ride mishap (8/9/04) # Bungee cord snaps; rider hospitalized (7/12/05) # Ride operator injured in 'Springshot' mishap (7/16/05) # Another bungee ride malfunctions (7/24/05) # Bungee jumper nearly strangled (8/1/05) # Riders stranded after reverse bungee ride malfunctions (6/22/06) # Cord snaps on reverse bungee ride (5/7/06) I dont know about any of you, but these dont seem to hold a good record of safty to me! Of all the rides I have seen in Rideaccidents.com these bungee type rides have one of the worst track records of accidents and one of the most related stories of accidents! I just dont trust anything with a bungee period!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haux Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 Wait, from the picture I can't tell...is this a Cable Ejection Seat, or the older Bungee Kind? Also the article obviously isn't right since it talks about bungee jumping, and not this actual ride!The article says the ride inspector told them that. Maybe the reporter interpreted "jumps" as "launches" or whatever you want to call what these things do. The article doesn't talk about bungee jumping. One paragraph mentions "jumps." Blah. From whatever snapped, it seems to me like it'd be the rubber cords, not the cable ride. The cable ones use springs to move around, so if anything, the springs would be the things breaking, not the cords. Anyone think there will be a follow-up article after the investigation goes through? It's on a TV news site, so I kind of doubt it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubaidave Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 That guy is so lucky. When this happened in Dubai 9 years ago both people were killed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djrappa Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 Elissa it looks to me like it was the bungee cord variety of the ride, you can see the frayed ends of the cord in that photo I'm pretty sure. I'm really NO WAY on those rides. The cable/swing box model though I recon rocks, there is one just down the road... been too long since I've been on that baby! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viking86 Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 There was a similar accident in Norway a few years ago. I belive one person had to be treated for minor injuries. Im glad the guy walked away in relatively good shape! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courtesy Flu$h Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 It was one of the Bungee Cord ejector seats from what I can tell. I worked at a bungee jump park and I was there the night of the accident a few years ago on the ejector seat. Here is what I remember about this type of ride. Whether it was cords that were built on site or bought from a company in Colorado, these cords really started to wear thin at 400 launches. I believe they were suppose to be okay up to 600 but we never went that high in # of launches. We had to keep a very detailed record of how many launches there was every day in the log book. The cords we used had a safety line in them that was able to hold 10,000 pounds. There was one on each cord, (one of the main reason to have both is if there was a cord failure, the safety line would prevent the chair from wrapping around the opposite pole). The nite of the accident the chair was launched, and as it was coming back towards the ground is when the cord failed, the safety line kept the chair from hitting the ground, the recoil from the other cord, prepelled it up and into the tower, it bounced off, and went a little higher and was stuck on the tower. There was 2 guys riding, one of which got stiches in his leg, but both walked away. (The guy that got stiches refused to take an ambulance, and went in his own vehicle to the hospital. Don't remember the exact # but I do believe it was less than 10 stiches that he received). I watched the whole thing happen from the top of the bungee jump tower. Very surreal watching it happen right before you. And yes I have ridden it alot since than, and still get a rush from it. edit: it was this accident that i was there for # Bungee cord snaps on Texas thrill ride; 2 injured (7/29/01) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calaway Park Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 Most of the accidents were probably caused by human error, just like so many others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlippyTrick09 Posted October 6, 2006 Share Posted October 6, 2006 Great.. I'm going to the Georgia Natoin Fair this weekend.. wonder what is going to happen there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrillrideseeker Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 OH WOW!!! I just rode one of those like 20 days ago. Good thing mine was safe!! Or was it? Hummmmm... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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