NEWS: Pndol (Pèndol) Tibidabo collapses - 1 Girl Dead

[robbalvey]

what i don´t understand is that the parks even till now doesn`t advice their operators that they stop the rides, till they have found the reason for the noise, even if they have to do a complete inspection of every screw and bolt on the ride.

Having spent a lot of time working at a park myself, I can tell you that anytime something abnormal is heard the ride operations crew and maintenance DO take it very seriously. But...if they were to take down every ride every time a noise was heard and inspected every screw and bolt, you would probably have rides that were inoperative more than they were open. That's just the reality of the situation here.

 

The maintenance crew WILL stop a ride and inspect if something out of the ordinary is heard, but if the maintenance crew, based on their professional experience, can't find anything wrong with the ride, what are they supposed to do? Just close it and call in an outside team? That's not realistic. A parks rides would never be open!

 

There HAS to be a balance. And considering the MILLIONS of ride cycles that happen on a daily basis versus the very, very small number of incidents...I actually think we're doing pretty good!

 

--Robb

 

EDIT: Heh, I like it when Elissa and I answer the same thing not knowing that the other one is typing it!

Edited July 18, 2010 by robbalvey

[viking86]

Some rides are unsafe, or have design flaws. Spinning rides are the most common source of fatalties that are not user related. Most coaster deaths are from the rider being an idiot (HW anyone?). Spinning rides are different. There is a long line of ride failures of spinning rides. It's a simple mechanical truism that rotating equipment has a high failure rate. Even the big coaster crashes usually boil down to wheels or axels, like the one in Germany this year.

 

I'm not a fan of spinning rides in general, but I still think they are a much higher risk ride than coasters.

-RO

 

Dont forget that theres a lot more spinning rides in the world than rollercoasters.

[ciriliox]

To try and lighten things up a bit...

 

I've decided the accident was caused by a lack of vowels in the ride name.

 

 

Hahaha, the name is a "sms style" abreviation of "Pèndol" (Pendulum in catalan language).

[Trevor]

Here you can see a video with some images from the base of the ride.

 

http://www.rtve.es/noticias/20100718/siguen-ingresadas-dos-heridas-del-accidente-del-tibidabo-dan-alta-herido-leve/340129.shtml

[Thuur]

Wow, horrifying! We had this thing on the Dutch funfairs for one season. It looked really, really fragile. Arm which brings to gondola up bended at one point. That's when they took it of the fairs.

 

I hope the injured people will be good soon!

[robbalvey]

Just posted some new photos on page one from that video that shows the full catastrophic failure of the ride - The base tower and everything have fallen over.

 

I think this should prove to be a very interesting investigation.

 

--Robb

Edited July 18, 2010 by robbalvey

[Trevor]

A new interesting notice:

 

http://www.3cat24.cat/noticia/774047/catalunya/Tecnics-del-Tibidabo-van-revisar-El-Pendol-quatre-hores-abans-de-laccident-per-un-soroll-estrany

 

translation with google:

 

A mistake in calculating the weight of the anchor that could withstand the pendulum could be the cause of the accident

 

The park is the mountain of grief for the accident to attract the pendulum, in which a girl died on Saturday aged 15 years and three children were injured. The Catalan police and the municipal company that manages the facilities are investigating what happened. The most plausible hypothesis for now is that the anchor attraction of the base gave way, and the question is why is everyone. According to sources close to the case quoted by the EFE news agency, could be a miscalculation that could withstand the weight of the anchors of attraction.

 

The first investigations of the collapse of the Pendulum The attraction point of the mountain, according to sources close to the investigation consulted by EFE, the anchors were insufficient to withstand the weight of the articulated arm which hung the basket where the occupants were. This miscalculation of engineers responsible for the anchors could be that, over time, had caused the base of the attraction from leaving.

 

The technicians whom Tibidabo amusement park has commissioned research have reviewed the incident on Sunday and the attraction of the anchors have shown that they are in perfect condition, so that the hypothesis is discarded in having cedissin rusted or deteriorated over time.

 

The assembly of the pendulum in the three days were five Italians and a technical engineer. The installation came to Italy on 26 July 2006 and came into operation in August of that year.

 

38 meters free fall

 

With its 38 meters of free fall, is one of the attractions of the amusement park and Barcelona four years ago, was the first of its kind to be set up in Spain.

 

It consists of an articulated arm 25 feet long with a gondola that holds a capacity of four people per flight, cabin that is dropped in a controlled manner from a height of 38 feet. The first occupants are high and then released once attained a speed of 100 kilometers per hour in under 2.8 seconds and a support force of gravity of 4.5. Once the phase of falling in a vacuum, the nacelle describes a swing of about fifty feet long.

 

The accident at the park of the mountain claimed the life of a girl and left three wounded, including a boy has been discharged and two girls evolve favorably. A forecast is mild and the other is hospitalized in serious Vall d'Hebron.

 

A review of extra noises

 

European legislation is that the minimum safety fixed attractions. Thereafter, each park provides protocols. Municipal sources have explained that security measures beyond the mountain that marks the EU rules. Revisions are made daily, weekly and monthly, and once a year, an outside company to do a more exhaustive. The pendulum went this review on June 9. This past Saturday was attracting all the controls but has been known that just four hours before the incident was reviewed by some of the extraordinary noises.

 

Besides the criminal investigation has opened up another internship to try to discover the causes of the accident. Tibidabo has closed this Sunday as a sign of mourning.

[robbalvey]

A mistake in calculating the weight of the anchor that could withstand the pendulum could be the cause of the accident

 

The technicians whom Tibidabo amusement park has commissioned research have reviewed the incident on Sunday and the attraction of the anchors have shown that they are in perfect condition, so that the hypothesis is discarded in having cedissin rusted or deteriorated over time.

This is why I really can't stand the news and early speculation. From what I gather this article was created with the headline attempting to make people believe that "There is a miscalculation of the weight of the anchor" and then if you actually read the article is says that inspectors have discarded that theory?

 

Or am I reading it wrong?

 

Here's an idea news people - how about reporting on something when you have REAL NEWS to report - not just making headlines for the sake of making headlines?

 

But then we all know the purpose of the news is 90% fabricated drama, because everyone loves drama and 10% factual news.

 

--Robb

[RollerCartman]

They are very scary but a ride that has been plauged with issues. When Brighton Pier got it installed the amount of downtime was crazy. Then an incident happened on another model which caused the piers version to close for some modifications and then ended up going back to Fabbri. It came back and broke again. The pier was not impressed and Fabbri paid for that new ghost train that sits beside Turbo. I have operated a lot of rides but this one was quite scary to work on. The amount the ride moves is scary but normal. The ride gives off so much force that you can feel the drop at the other end of the pier with a small jolt and sway. It was an epic ride though, in the fog or at night it was extreme.

I was there when the guy from fabbri had just tested it and said can I have a go in jest and he said yes! I thought sweet, it was about this point I noticed the control panel on a crate I knew it was safe just a case of the operators cabin not being finished. I got strapped in and taken to the top facing the sky/sea...Pow what a drop, super scary and so much force. The ride was pretty poor once the first drop was over though. Real shame for the riders and their families, my heart goes out to them. Real thrill rides that push us and the ride to the limit are great, just a real shame for everyone involved.

Edited July 18, 2010 by RollerCartman

[Trevor]

A mistake in calculating the weight of the anchor that could withstand the pendulum could be the cause of the accident

 

The technicians whom Tibidabo amusement park has commissioned research have reviewed the incident on Sunday and the attraction of the anchors have shown that they are in perfect condition, so that the hypothesis is discarded in having cedissin rusted or deteriorated over time.

This is why I really can't stand the news and early speculation. From what I gather this article was created with the headline attempting to make people believe that "There is a miscalculation of the weight of the anchor" and then if you actually read the article is says that inspectors have discarded that theory?

 

Or am I reading it wrong?

 

Here's an idea news people - how about reporting on something when you have REAL NEWS to report - not just making headlines for the sake of making headlines?

 

But then we all know the purpose of the news is 90% fabricated drama, because everyone loves drama and 10% factual news.

 

--Robb

 

Inspectors said that the base wasn't deteriorated and the materials were correct, but the mistake in the calculation is not discarted.

[dmaxsba2408]

Sorry if this comes of as disrespectful to those injured and dead. It is not meant to be, but I just watched a video of this ride in action from the manufacturer's site posted several pages back and it sure does look like one fine fun ride! Like the swings at Knotts and Mt Olympus, and the giant one at CP with the added fun of the spin you get from a Skyscraper. It's like a much larger version of the old swing ride at Glenwood Springs.

 

Hope they get what ever caused the problem worked out and I really hope that when I get to a park that has one it will still be working.

 

"Me" wants to ride it!

Edited July 18, 2010 by dmaxsba2408

[RollerCartman]

At the point where the arm can be released the operator must wait for the ride to do a safety check and a light comes on, it takes about 10 seconds. If the ride has any issues the car will stay put and the car must be lowered by ethier a system that normaly didn't work or a whinch on the side of the ride. I struggle to understand how the ride would not be able to cope with the weight, the drop would depend on the weight it was never the same rate of drop

[ciriliox]

The thing that I can't understand is HOW the yellow and red arm broke that way. Looking the renders made by TV3 (catalan TV), the arm should have been whole, in one piece. It's so shocking, if fireman didn't touch anything and looking the images, the cabin fell just in front of the queue line. I can't imagine the dantesque scenes there, really. And I don't want to.

 

By the way, Fabbri Air Driver is a little bit rude in my opinion. When I rode it, I almost lost some APPRECIATED parts of my anatomy in the 4.5G moment. I think that who rode it can understand me.

[VegasCoaster]

I'd like to see some more pictures of the base of the ride and how that was connected because that seems like the major problem. From the video grabs on the first post it looks like the anchorage of the base of the tower was insufficient as the one article claims. The counterweight actually shouldn't be much of a concern since the only thing which is changing by the position of the car is the amount of bending on the main support and base, and you should be able to determine that and design for it very easily. Normally I'd expect to see the bolts on the base getting embedded in concrete, but its hard to tell from the pictures how that was connected, though it looks like it was just two steel plates bolted together. Light poles on freeways and stadiums have a habit of collapsing due to fatigue from repeated exposure to wind load. I'm wondering if this was something similar, where the connection at the bottom wasn't designed to go through enough load cycles to get to the design life of the ride. As far as damage to the yellow and red arms that can probably be explained from falling 100+ feet. I'd be interested to see more pictures of the base of the ride to see how it was connected and a formal report would be good, but thats my stab at the problem.

 

Thats an absolutely horrific accident and my regards go out to the friends and family of those involved.

[Ed]

I don't suppose it's known if the ride was actually going when this happened? The actual bit where you'd sit looks as if it's the other way around from where it would be hoisted up. I can't see how it would end up in this position unless the tower had fallen over whilst the pendulum car was in motion.

[robbalvey]

^ I would assume that animation is probably fairly representative of what was how the accident happened, and according to that it was in motion.

[thomas2]

Not to be nitpicky but the ride is called "El Péndulo" instead of Pndol like in the title.

[robbalvey]

^ It actually goes by both names. Do a Google search and you will see. I will add "El Péndulo" to the topic title though.

[BudtheWeiser]

The thing that I can't understand is HOW the yellow and red arm broke that way. Looking the renders made by TV3 (catalan TV), the arm should have been whole, in one piece. It's so shocking, if fireman didn't touch anything and looking the images, the cabin fell just in front of the queue line. I can't imagine the dantesque scenes there, really. And I don't want to.

 

By the way, Fabbri Air Driver is a little bit rude in my opinion. When I rode it, I almost lost some APPRECIATED parts of my anatomy in the 4.5G moment. I think that who rode it can understand me.

 

This shows how the ride would look normally if I get what you mean its that joint which has broken rather than it snapping in half on its own

[JakeHillyard]

OMG, This is horrible,

R.I.P to that girl, and may the people who are injured get better soon, <3

[oriolat]

Not to be nitpicky but the ride is called "El Péndulo" instead of Pndol like in the title.

 

"PNDØL" or "Pèndol". The ride was called BOTH ways, but not "El Péndulo" which is the Spanish translation.

[derek_lentz]

A mistake in calculating the weight of the anchor that could withstand the pendulum could be the cause of the accident

 

The technicians whom Tibidabo amusement park has commissioned research have reviewed the incident on Sunday and the attraction of the anchors have shown that they are in perfect condition, so that the hypothesis is discarded in having cedissin rusted or deteriorated over time.

This is why I really can't stand the news and early speculation. From what I gather this article was created with the headline attempting to make people believe that "There is a miscalculation of the weight of the anchor" and then if you actually read the article is says that inspectors have discarded that theory?

 

Or am I reading it wrong?

 

Here's an idea news people - how about reporting on something when you have REAL NEWS to report - not just making headlines for the sake of making headlines?

 

But then we all know the purpose of the news is 90% fabricated drama, because everyone loves drama and 10% factual news.

 

--Robb

The way that I am reading it, it says that "The anchor does not show any signs of rust or deterioration, so they have ruled that out as a cause for the colapse. Therefore the weight needed to anchor the ride must have been miscalculated."

[ciriliox]

I just have listened to an interview with two important people. The first one, the president of the structure consultor college, and the second one an ex-maintenance worker in tibidabo. I will paste the link of the interview later, but it's in catalan and spanish. They said some very interesting things. The radio station is very serious, it's not a "yellow station".

 

IMPORTANT QUOTES

 

STRUCTURE CONSULTORS COLLEGE PRESIDENT (Don't remember the name)

 

- Force calculation problems discarted. They made A LOT of tests involving forces. They MUST be approved in order to use the ride.

 

- Hot didn't cause the noises because it only affects one or two inches deep.

 

- He said that the problem were the anchors. They "had been" pulled appart from the concrete base. The pictures are so clear with that (he told).

 

- The main investigation will try to determinate WHY the anchors had been separated from concrete base.

 

EX-MAINTENANCE WORKER

 

- The ride was very problematic since it started in june/july 2006. The first test determined structure problems and they had to remove one iron rod.

 

- In july 2007, the main axis broke. They didn't made any analysis, the staff simply replaced the axis with another one, bigger.

 

- They found many hydraulic break problems.

 

------

 

The link:

 

http://www.racalacarta.com/download.php?file=0719%2016h%20(Dilluns%2019-07-10)%20%20VERSIO%20RAC1.mp3

 

1st interview (only catalan): 42:15

 

2nd interview (questions in catalan, answers in spanish): 52:35

[Zman5]

I was at he park about three hours before the accident - We watched as the ride made a loud clanking noise about 4 pm.

We left two adult kids there, and on their own, decided not to go on the ride as they noticed the same thing an hour later.

I told them of the accident after seeing the news on CNN the next morning- They both said knew something was not right

It really is amazing no one noticed.

 

Thank Goodness

[Columbia]

Of course this kind of accident is an exception...but anyway something like this should NEVER happen.

 

Makes it alot harder for me to get on this kind of ride in the future...sad but true !

Of course something like this should never happen, but things like this DO happen. Not just with amusement rides, but with ANYTHING - Airplanes, automobiles, construction cranes, elevators, shopping malls, etc, etc...

 

As theme park and roller coaster enthusiasts I think we should be trying to SUPPORT the industry instead of saying things like "Makes it harder for me to get on this kind of ride again in the future."

 

That's the kind of statement I'd expect the "general public" to say, not a more educated person who is part of a community who should KNOW BETTER about these kinds of things.

 

And something that everyone needs to keep in mind - as horrible as an accident like this is, every time something like this unfortunately DOES happen, it actually makes the world of amusement rides SAFER because there will be investigations and findings from this accident that will be applied to future rides of this kind.

 

This accident would not stop me from getting on another ride exactly like this one again. Because I know the chances of this happening a 2nd time is very unlikely, and even if it DID the odds are still WELL in my favor.

 

That's like saying "I'm never going to get on another airplane again" after hearing about a crash. Well, here's the reality of the situation - Never getting on an airplane again might guarantee you'll never die in an airplane crash, but all you've done is rule out the one of millions of possible freak accidents that *could* happen to you.

 

My advice to someone like this - don't ever leave your house...and hope that an airplane doesn't crash into it!

 

Exactly!

 

If you look at the graph curve of aviation accidents (with the exception of 9/11) you'll see the number of deaths and injuries drop even though you see actual passengers increase. Every accident we learn something new or take away something from it (Hence why we've had only one hull loss of a Boeing 777 - yet NO FATALITIES.) Same goes for the theme parks...

 

Let's not forget that this industry (amusements and theme parks) are really only one generation removed from advertising that their coasters killed and injured people...which was a SELLING POINT! (Re: Crystal Beach Cyclone's Nurse Station) With each incident we get that much better at design, engineering and safety. While there's inherent risk in riding thrill rides - there's a much greater risk DRIVING to the park on the freeway. Your odds of being injured at theme park are so low, you'd hit all 12 numbers on a Keno card *TWICE* before you ever came close to being injured on a ride.

 

Just keepin' it all in perspective....