Kentucky Kingdom (SFKK, KK) Discussion Thread

[mudvayneimn]

While I wouldn't go so far as to say that the cable snap was not the parks fault (i.e. poor maintenence) just yet, the cable falling/swinging in a certain fashion that caused the girl to be injured was something no one could prepare for and that isn't anyones fault. The park is going to get sued either way, no matter what, and I don't think the park will try to fight unless the lawsuit is astronomical. There is a reason why the cable snapped and I'm confident that it will be discovered. What we may never know though is how and in what fashion this cable came into contact with the rider to do so much damage.

[Darksin]

I remember not long ago, watching a thing on thrill rides and how they do the testing for these cables. They are made, designed and tested to withstand astronomical amounts of force, something like quadruple the force the ride could possibly produce. It also showed how just because half the cable snaps the other half is suppose to be designed not to buckle and cause an E-stop on the ride.

Most of these rides anymore are so damned sophisticated and touchy they can and will E-stop for the most off the wall reasons. Anything from an actually problem to the fact the sensor timed out and decided it didn't like the situation. I've seen my rides (and others) E-stop because of BUGS landing on the sensors! It's wild how the tech works anymore.

 

It really is a freak accident, even more so after thinking about what they said on this program. Plus knowing how touchy rides can be? Perhaps the cable was faulty from the go? Maybe Zeus decided to smite this ride cause he's not a superman fan? Maybe the boogyman did it? We won't know until or even if they find the cause.

Either way I hope the girl recovers to the best possible condition. It could have been anyone, even someone here who it happened to. It's all luck of the draw my friends, sadly this girls number came up.

[moinab]

* I too thought it was a little odd that all the other towers (of different models and generations) had been closed, but I figure as much as "erring on the side of caution", it's also helpful to put the public's mind at rest, confirm to them that investigations are being taken into many of that type of ride. At the end of the day, your average member of the GP doesn't distinguish between manufacturers or anything, they just see a tower that goes up and comes down, and assumes they're all the same. Makes sense from a PR point of view and as comfort.

 

Exactly! This is similar to the Norovirus situation with the cruise ships, where the cruise lines were cancelling cruises to scrub down the ships. The reality is, as soon as the next batch of passengers walked on the ship and started touching handrails, doorknobs, and whatnot, the ships were just as contaminated as before. But

they had to do it, to restore public confidence.

 

* Eye-witness testimony is notoriously unreliable and even little things such as the way a reporter phrases a question (I'm not saying deliberately, even unconscious little encouragements) can have an effect. Eye-witnesses to car accidents will statistically estimate the speed of a travelling vehicle as faster if they are asked "what speed did the car CRASH into the wall" as opposed to "at what speed did the car make contact with the wall". It's a shame that so much stock is put into what people say.

 

ITA!!!!!

 

* Does anybody else find it odd that there has been NO news about the girl's condition yet?? I wasn't surprised that there was no news LAST night, but I am a little surprised that there hasn't been anything yet. I'm guessing this means that her parents aren't willing to release any information, but in my experience the hospital usually at least convince them to allow them to make some kind of generic "it's early days but she's stable" type statement. Don't know why, but I find the lack of confirmed facts quite unnerving. It is very early though. We'll see what the weekend brings.

 

HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) regulations are a huge deal for American hospitals. I run into HIPAA issues multiple times, every single shift that I work. If the family doesn't want any information released, the hospital must remain silent.

 

I can see what you mean, though - it is surprising, because we're so used to seeing people fall over themselves to get their stories into the media, but there are plenty of people who want to keep their privacy, too.

[Tobias94]

Crap!

 

Here in Stockholm, they closed our big freefall ride, Fritt Fall.

Sigh. Let's just hope that it opens next week.

[PKI Jizzman]

http://www.charlotte.com/112/story/170714.html

 

Inspectors closed a popular ride at Carowinds Friday after they found that the Drop Zone Stunt Tower had a cable that was too thin.

 

The ride was inspected after an accident involving a similar attraction in Kentucky sliced off a girl's feet on Thursday.

 

Inspectors ordered the ride at Carowinds closed Friday morning, said Jonathan Brooks of the N.C. Department of Labor, but Cedar Fair Entertainment Co. of Sandusky, Ohio, had already closed Drop Zone along with rides at four other amusement parks Thursday "as a precautionary measure," the company said.

 

Carowinds officials planned to install new cables, and inspectors were scheduled to take a look at Drop Zone again on Tuesday morning. Brooks said the cable wasn't frayed, as some media outlets reported Friday.

 

"You have the strands of the cable start rubbing together and they create a rust," which causes the thinning, he said. "The cable wasn't frayed where, you know, the piano's hanging above the guy and it's about to fall and there's one strand holding it up."

 

Brooks said no riders at Carowinds were ever in any danger. The cable was deteriorating from inside, but could have lasted for months, he said. There are five metal cables on each four-person car, though just one is enough to lift all the weight. The Drop Zone lifts people 160 feet before it free falls at speeds reaching 56 mph. The cables are not used to stop the ride.

 

Park spokesman Scott Anderson said he didn't know when the 11-year-old ride would reopen.

 

State inspectors were at the Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville to examine the Superman Tower of Power, where Thursday's accident happened. The ride lifts passengers 177 feet in the air, then drops them at speeds reaching 54 mph.

 

It was unclear at what point in the ride the 13-year-old was injured Thursday, said Wendy Goldberg, a Six Flags spokeswoman. CNN and the Louisville Courier-Journal reported that a cable broke free and injured the girl while she was on the ride. The girl was taken to a hospital, where her condition was not immediately available Friday. There had been no reports of injuries on the ride before Thursday, Goldberg said.

 

Six Flags shut down similar rides at parks in St. Louis; Gurnee, Ill.; and near Seattle.

 

In addition to Carowinds, Cedar Fair shut down drop tower rides in Cincinnati, Toronto, Virginia and California.

 

Intamin AG, a Swiss company, made the rides but did not supply all the parts, said Sandor Kernacs, president of the company's American operations. -- observer staff writer greg lacour and the Associated Press contributed.

 

-- Cleve R. Wootson Jr.: 704-358-5046

 

 

Even if the cables could have lasted months, they need to have new cables on sooner.

[yourFacex3]

Even if the cables could have lasted months, they need to have new cables on sooner.

 

That's exactly how stuff like this accident happens. Yes, they can possibly have lasted another couple months, but something also could have caused it to snap.

 

Although that's not what I thought happened at KK, but it very well could have.

[Vekoma Fan Boy]

After all the comments on "Hopefully she can have her feet reattached" I think a better statement would be, "Hopefully she can have her feet reattached and working." It is one thing to have feet, but a completely different thing to have working feet.

[Robgraves]

" It is one thing to have feet, but a completely different thing to have working feet.

 

i find the same thing can be said for roommates.

[coasterchi]

Well, this accident seriously does people make argu with each other! On a dutchforum (themepark.nl) , are also a lot of discussions on this item. Even though, we all agree that something has to change about the fact that the cables are at the outside of the tower. So i worked out a little idea with a freefall tower that uses LIM's on the way up. You can see a little animation on this adres:

 

 

I think its a great solution , but probably very expensive!

[waterviper]

So i worked out a little idea with a freefall tower that uses LIM's on the way up. You can see a little animation on this adres:

I think its a great solution , but probably very expensive!

That is an extremely good idea and can work!

 

See that is the thing right there why rides break and cause accidents. People try to save a buck!

[sixflagsguy5]

From what I've heard, LIMs cost a ton of money to operate, so running 6x the power would be very expensive.

 

From a rider standpoint, I hope that it was just a faulty cable and the rest of the Intamin 2nd generation drop towers can continue operation.

[Vekoma Fan Boy]

But, Intamin could use the new LSM technology used on Maverick, From what I have heard those are pretty cheap to operate. And I see how this works, It works like the rollback fins on an Accelerator except in reverse, the LIMS (or LSMs) Lift the train up using electromagnetic currents, the when the car gets to the top, they retract, and drop the car onto the permanent brakes below. Sheer genius coasterchi!

[RaptorBoyASU]

I've never been on one of the 2nd gen freefall towers. I don't know if I will anytime soon either.

 

Awesome!

 

Less people waiting in line in front of me and James for Hurakon Condor next week at Port Aventura!

 

Yah, I forgot about that one. I don't know, for some reason, I've always skipped over them. They just kind of creep me out (I'm a drop ride wuss). I skipped over all of them in Europe when I went, and also skipped over Pittfall, the one at Great America, and others.

 

Of course, I was always alone at those parks or with another drop ride wuss. I might cave under pressure.

[JFields]

They finally released the name of the girl. Thirteen-year-old Kaitlyn Lasitter is currently being treated at Vanderbilt Children's Hopsital.

 

At last update, she was in criticial condition.

 

If you want to leave her a note, you can do so here:

http://www.whas11.com/perl/common/surveys/display_full.pl?poll_id=12001&site=whas11&vaction=voting&thissite=whas11

[palavos3]

One thing that pisses me off is all the freefall towers are closed now because of this fluky accident. They should open up soon or else there are going to be a lot of angry people ou there such as I. What the hell is it with these parks?

[Carnage]

^ Yeah, damn those parks for having your safety in mind.

 

They should totally operate their rides before finding out what the cause of the accident was.

[Spokker]

One thing that pisses me off is all the freefall towers are closed now because of this fluky accident. They should open up soon or else there are going to be a lot of angry people ou there such as I. What the hell is it with these parks?

Sorry, but as someone who loves amusement parks and theme parks and coasters as much as the next person here I want them to shut down every ride of this type until they find out what the cause of the accident was.

[methos]

are any of the gen 2 towers still open, or has all the parks that have them closed the rides down?

 

from what i see here is all cedar fair and six flags are shut down. i do not think they will keep them all closed for long. their are tons of them and millions of rides with out an issue.

[Spokker]

their are tons of them and millions of rides with out an issue.

You are absolutely right, but it could be a problem that only manifests itself years into operation. I support keeping the rides closed until the investigation is over.

[MarkP8]

They finally released the name of the girl. [...] If you want to leave her a note, you can do so here [...]

(NOTE: Hyperlink changed to Home Page of the Louisville, Kentucky site. You may have to register to sign the guestbook: Louisville News)

 

Thank you, J. I think it would be a really nice thing for all of us who are such enthusiasts of theme parks and rides to drop this little girl a kind note.

 

I think she needs as much kindness as we can shower upon her.

[USRoadTripper]

My local news is also confirming that the girl is being treated at Vanderbilt Hospital, which I assume means the Vandy childrens hospital. I've been lucky enough to not experience it first hand, but supposedly it is one of the better childrens hospitals in the country. So she's in good hands!

 

-Julie

[Gav]

In other news, down here Dreamworld have been in the media spotlight for not closing the Giant Drop.

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,21960126-952,00.html

 

I actually agree with DWs decision to keep GD open , a cable snapping is IMO not related specifically to Intamin Drop towers, cables could snap anywhere: in lifts, on boomerangs, on a crane, on a suspension bridge etc etc.

 

To me, it would be more logical to shut off equipment using cables of the from the same manufacturer that SFKK was using on S:TOP rather than closing all rides of the same type as S:TOP.

In other words, I think the blame lies more with the cable manufacturer (or possibly park maintenance) rather than Intamin. It wasn't Intamins engineering that caused the cable to snap.

 

Its just a freak accident, i mean the odds of a cable snapping are next to nothing, what are the odds of it acutally looping itself into a position where it could lop your legs off, I mean it managed to do it to one of the four people on that carriage. It a bit of a chain of events that would be tough to repeat.

[RollerC]

In other news, down here Dreamworld have been in the media spotlight for not closing the Giant Drop.

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,21960126-952,00.html

 

I actually agree with DWs decision to keep GD open , a cable snapping is IMO not related specifically to Intamin Drop towers, cables could snap anywhere: in lifts, on boomerangs, on a crane, on a suspension bridge etc etc.

 

To me, it would be more logical to shut off equipment using cables of the from the same manufacturer that SFKK was using on S:TOP rather than closing all rides of the same type as S:TOP.

In other words, I think the blame lies more with the cable manufacturer (or possibly park maintenance) rather than Intamin. It wasn't Intamins engineering that caused the cable to snap.

 

Its just a freak accident, i mean the odds of a cable snapping are next to nothing, what are the odds of it acutally looping itself into a position where it could lop your legs off, I mean it managed to do it to one of the four people on that carriage. It a bit of a chain of events that would be tough to repeat.

A Cable snapping on a Boomerang wouldn't cut someones foot off. Mabey their head if the boomerang didn't already do it but I still think they should of checked it. I mean look at DZ at Carowinds...their inspection found a cable to be "thinner than normal". It may be the way the legal system works in AU though(US has a bitch of a one).

[USRoadTripper]

A Cable snapping on a Boomerang wouldn't cut someones foot off.

 

I'm sure a week ago, we'd have all been saying "A cable snapping on a drop tower wouldn't cut someone's foot off" yet here we are. This accident just proves how you're never sure of what a ride malfunction could do!

 

-Julie

[spaceace12]

For those of you who think that since SFKK tower isn't on thier website that it is goin to be removed, I think it was this site, St. Louis' isn't listed either.