Splash_Mountain Posted July 20, 2010 Share Posted July 20, 2010 A ride called "The Scorpion" crashed Friday night at the Calgary Stampede. It injured 10. A pod flew off the ride, and the ride operator continued to operate the ride. More info including a photo gallery here: http://www.calgaryherald.com/sports/Calgary+Stampede+ride+breaks+injured/3288824/story.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angryemobeaver Posted July 20, 2010 Share Posted July 20, 2010 Whats up with rides having accidents lately? Like in 2008 it was people sneaking into fences at Six Flags parks and getting hit by suspended/inverted coasters! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Splash_Mountain Posted July 20, 2010 Author Share Posted July 20, 2010 Stampede had a REALLY rough ride this year with weather, horse deaths and this was the last thing to happen. I actually was on park when this occurred, and it was pure chaos. Nothing like this has EVER happened at the Stampede since they've had rides over 50 years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themeparkman25 Posted July 20, 2010 Share Posted July 20, 2010 Is the Scorpion ride like a Troika? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Splash_Mountain Posted July 20, 2010 Author Share Posted July 20, 2010 Apperantly yes... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davisal771 Posted July 20, 2010 Share Posted July 20, 2010 Whats up with rides having accidents lately? Like in 2008 it was people sneaking into fences at Six Flags parks and getting hit by suspended/inverted coasters! I know! I was thinking the same thing. God, this is like, horror-movie type accident. These are the kind of things scared little kids think of before they ride. Its a wonder that no one was killed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Splash_Mountain Posted July 20, 2010 Author Share Posted July 20, 2010 My buddy and me were riding rides on the first day of Stampede and we kept passing Scorpion and he kept bugging me to go on it and I just kept going "Nah, let's do this one instead" and even like when we were on the Zipper I said something like "Ever see that movie Final Destination 3?". Made it more scary for me. My friend actually was next in line for it when it happened, and texted me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hurricane Posted July 20, 2010 Share Posted July 20, 2010 Here is a picture of the ride. I am not sure of the original source of the photo but it was posted on an Australian Carnival Website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzimm Posted July 20, 2010 Share Posted July 20, 2010 This is seriously frightening to me. I'm not sure about the U.S., but here in Canada, I know that fairground and traveling ride regulations are different from those for permanent rides in theme parks. I always feel completely safe going on rides at Wonderland, regardless of what kind of accidents happen internationally, but this scares me. I love fairground rides and we get a lot of carnivals and fairs in my town throughout the summer, but lately I'm not so sure about them anymore. Safety regulations just aren't what they should be here for rides like that. I'm just glad that more people weren't hurt, and that there were no deaths. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hurricane Posted July 20, 2010 Share Posted July 20, 2010 I know I am from Australia and things may be different here, but the regulations for traveling amusement rides are VERY strict and if not more strict than the theme parks. People always get the indications that "carny" rides are not as safe as the permanent versions of the rides. I have worked in both a theme park and carnival environment for the last 3 years, and I have total faith in all the Amusement rides that I have ever been on. Sadly though accidents like this can happen at any time. Obviously we can't rule out negligence at this stage, as we are unaware of what actually caused the failure. I am inclined however to believe that this could be a freak accident that has happened. As I have actually worked on an Identical ride at carnivals and even helped to set up and pull down the ride on multiple occasions. It seems very odd that this has happened, as there are several huge bolts that hold the "Star Wheel" as it's called to the main sweeps. However if the accident happened while the ride was going at full speed, one bolt breaking could have been enough to put stress on the ride causing the failure. Even if the ride has passed inspection, the bolt can sometimes unexpectedly fail with no signs of wear and tear. It is a very tragic incident that has happened and I wish all the victims of the incident a speedy recovery from the bottom of my heart. And just a FYI, the Australian Scorpion Model, seen in the video above has been closed down for inspections by WorkSafe SA (Our equivalent of state inspectors) and has been deemed all clear, however the owners of the unit are prepared to shut down the ride and make any modifications if the Manufacturer (Tivoli Inc.) requests it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dailey Enterprizes Posted July 20, 2010 Share Posted July 20, 2010 ^^ Well I for one have never been trusting of any kind of portable ride. There's something unsafe about a ride that isn't firmly cemented to the ground. Anyway, this is pretty horrific and a rude way to wake up in the morning. I am glad that nobody was seriously hurt (unless someone is keeping that news to themselves), but it is a bit freaky. My boss used to tell me that everything happens in threes, but I think I lost count. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesdillaman Posted July 20, 2010 Share Posted July 20, 2010 ^ You don't consider punctured lungs, kidney and spleen problems and unresponsive in the hospital seriously hurt? Sounds pretty serious to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pingu1651 Posted July 20, 2010 Share Posted July 20, 2010 Wow, just the other day my friend and I were jokingly telling kids that "this ride (had an accident) in Wisconsin and everybody died" at a ghetto fair. I think I jinxed all these ride malfunctions. Oddly enough, I was at CP a month ago waiting for Troika when some kid's restraint popped open. It was the same type of ride as this one. It was an OMEN! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dailey Enterprizes Posted July 20, 2010 Share Posted July 20, 2010 ^^ I guess I skimmed over that part of the report, but at least nobody was killed. ^ I think it only classifies as an omen if it happens to you and I highly doubt some holder of faith would care to warn anyone about a carnival ride falling apart. That will be like saying it's going to rain somewhere on earth today. I hope those people are alright, but not to blame faith or a faulty inspection... sometimes stuff happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tmcdllr Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 Whoa! This thing reminds me of Triple Play that used to be at CGA except faster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Splash_Mountain Posted September 20, 2010 Author Share Posted September 20, 2010 I hate to bump up an old topic but I forgot one really important thing. They said that the operator continued to operate the ride even after the pod detached. What do you think of this? Apperantly a security guard had to jump up to the booth and get the operators attention. Just so you know alot of NAME's operators come from South Africa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tmcdllr Posted September 20, 2010 Share Posted September 20, 2010 They said that the operator continued to operate the ride even after the pod detached. What do you think of this? Apperantly a security guard had to jump up to the booth and get the operators attention. Yeah that is absolutely ridiculous! How the hell do you not notice something like that? I mean seriously, you'd have to be a complete brain dead moron not to notice a huge part of a ride flying off and crashing right in front of you. Stupid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hurricane Posted September 21, 2010 Share Posted September 21, 2010 I wouldn't be so quick to judge the operator in this case. An emergency stop proceedure can take time for the machine to fully stop. In the instance of the Scorpion ride, it takes around 25 - 30 seconds for the Emergency Stop to fully kick in and stop all motions. The main hub has to stop spinning, and that spins at around 10 - 12RPM (depending on operator) while the star wheels that the gondola's are attached to spin at around 15rpm. For the ride to stop any faster would cause whiplash and possibly more damage to the ride / riders. Also you may not understand this, but when an incident like that happens it can take a few seconds to react. That and seeing it happen even the best of operators can go into shock and freak out. Having people calling all "carnies" stupid like that is actually a bit insulting to me as I have worked the local shows in Australia for 3 years now. I know you may not have been meaning to be insulting, but I just feel that you should know both sides to this and how the media blow things out of proportion. If the ride HAD stopped (which it did) The Emergency stop would have had to be engaged. I am also not speaking out of my a$$ with these facts, I have actually worked on the Scorpion ride before and these are all facts about the rides proceedure. *Speeds of the Scorpion at the Calgary Stampede may not be accurate due to the operator, but are based on the speeds of an Identical ride in Australia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tmcdllr Posted September 21, 2010 Share Posted September 21, 2010 Apperantly a security guard had to jump up to the booth and get the operators attention. That's all well and good and I am sure you are a fine worker and nowhere did I ever "call all carnies stupid"---those are your words not mine, I was specifically commenting on this one idiot, but when someone else has to jump in and get your attention then there is something really wrong with the operator, I don't care if the ride stops immediately or it takes time when the E stop is pressed, if you are not paying attention to the big giant noisy machine that just had a large part fly off and crash also making a lot of noise in front of you with people screaming, then you do not need to be operating rides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hurricane Posted September 22, 2010 Share Posted September 22, 2010 I am aware of what was said, hence why explaining that even the best of operators can sometimes go into a state of shock when something like that happens. I know you didn't say that all carnies are stupid, but that's the impression that a lot of people get sadly. However from looking at a lot of videos of rides in America at carnivals, I can sort of see why you are under that impression! Some of the people operating some of the rides scare even me! At least in Australia we have a standard of workers who operate the carnival rides here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tmcdllr Posted September 22, 2010 Share Posted September 22, 2010 However from looking at a lot of videos of rides in America at carnivals, I can sort of see why you are under that impression! Some of the people operating some of the rides scare even me! I totally agree with that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vrf19977 Posted September 22, 2010 Share Posted September 22, 2010 Ughhh, let's not get on the topic of incompetent ride op's!! My son was on a swing ride a few weeks ago, and the operator had it rotating (the cycle before it tilts and the swings go up and down), then he started talking to another op, who was apparently a buddy of his. He ignored the ride, it just kept going around and around, you could see everybody kinda looking towards the operator after a minute, waiting for it to continue to the next cycle, and the two dudes just kept gabbing. I was about to say something when he FINALLY remembered he was (gasp) operating a ride full of people and he pushed the button. A few years ago, we were at Knoebel's waiting to ride the Phoenix and the op's were completely distracted and didn't brake the train coming in, and it went right through the station and got halfway up the lift hill again before they stopped it. That really freaked me out, but we rode anyway. I know that most parks employ teens and retirees cause they're easy to hire and can be paid very little. But I honestly cringe everytime I get on a ride and all the 16 year old op's are busy flirting and joking with each other instead of paying attention to what they're doing. By the way, the article in the OP specifically states that the delay in stopping the ride was NOT because the emergency stop function took time to complete, but that the operator didn't even BEGIN to stop the ride, someone else had to jump in and do it, and people were screaming at the op to stop the ride while it continued to rotate with the remaining intact cars slamming into people and injuring them. HELLO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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