Most Notable Accident

[Cyber.Fiber]

From "Incidents at Cedar Fair parks" page in Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incidents_at_Cedar_Fair_parks

 

I do not know what you're talking about that my facts are wrong, the kid was mentally disabled as shown on Wikipedia. I know it was odd that he could open the harness.

 

I did not mean to offend you in any way.

 

The wiki article is a vague source of information regarding the accident. The reason for this is that the article is about "Incidents at Cedar Fair Parks" and not about the Drop Zone accident in particular.

 

The Information from the Wiki Article:

"In August 1999, a 12-year-old boy who was mentally disabled fell from the tower and died. The victim's family claimed the harness was not locked properly. An investigation was inconclusive and no charges were filed."

 

First; the boy was mentally disabled, and that is why I took offence to you using the phrase "Retarded Kid" to describe him in your first post. Second; the victims family SPECULATED that the boys harness was not locked properly. This does not mean that it wasn't locked properly, it simply means that they thought it could be the reason behind the accident. Third; saying "the investigation was inconclusive and no charges were filed" does not present any of the facts found during the investigation, but simply states the outcome of the case the family had presented. And Fourth; a footnote that takes you to a dead page is not a valid source.

 

The wiki article is correct, but the problem is that the article does not present you with all the information required for one to create an informed post. It leaves lots of room for speculation instead of giving you sound evidence to support your statement.

 

The second article that you posted does contain more information, however, the information is ALL speculation and contains NO solid evidence within it! It is written mostly with information collected by the writer from people who had been visiting the park the day of the accident; and we all know how reliable information from the GP can be.

 

At one point in the article, after guest remarks are made about the employees of the park not being diligent, the police sergeant states: "most of those opinions are, so far, subjective." This statement, along with many others like it throughout reading, deem what seem to be facts as just personal opinions and thoughts; which in the final report do not contribute to the actual investigation findings. Had the article been written after the investigation reports been published and had contained information from the report as opposed to information gathered from the GP, your argument would have been valid and much stronger.

 

I don't want you, XYZ, or anyone else reading this thread to get the idea that I'm being a smart A$$ by responding to your post, but I'm positive that many people on here would agree with me when I say that if you are going to post in a thread about "Most Notable Accidents" you should at least be able to support your "Most Notable Accident" with the correct facts, especially if what you are talking about it is a notable accident. By saying: "There was a time when a retarded kid opened his harness and fell off Drop Zone in Great America, killing himself. He must have been scared of heights." , you sound like an average member of the GP, and you aren't contributing anything to the thread. If it was a notable accident for you, one would think you should know a bit more information about the accident; and if you don't, someone will more than happily post the correct information for you to read, just like I did. I didn't post the two articles that I did to start a fight with you, I posted them so that you could gain a better insight into the accident, which is what this thread is about. I just found it rude, although quite hilarious (I mean Wikipedia? REALLY?) that you attempted to corroborate your first post by responding with two articles that were both poor in terms of their factual information and in their creditability when all I had originally intended to do was supply you with correct and creditable information that I thought you might find interesting about the case.

 

Basically what I am trying to say is that if you don't know what you're talking about, go do some research and expand your knowledge on the topic. If you are given the information, don't attempt to argue with the person who gave it to you by posting information that is nowhere near as creditable as the information that they presented. They most likely just wanted to help.

 

I don't want to start a flame-war out of this, I just wanted to let you know what I thought you should have taken from my post.

[KrakenKing]

I can't seem to find anything at the moment... and if anyone can find something on this accident, please post it.

 

I read an article and saw some photos of a Togo Stand-up in (I believe) Japan where a wheel fell off, the train derailed to the side and crushed a guy against the emergency catwalk. That was pretty shocking. Brings a new meaning to "Death machine"

[A.J.]

The Fujin Raijin II accident (what you just described) seems to be the most notable in my opinion.

 

[Philrad71]

Back in the day when there was no internet, I remember being horrified after hearing about a woman that got thrown from a Togo stand-up at Six Flags St. Louis (I believe). Never knew why back then...only that she was thrown from the ride and died. Media was lame back then....oh wait, it still is!

 

Anyway, the next year, we went to Canada's Wonderland and I remember looking at a similar Togo coaster wondering how I would fly out of it...if I were to ride (which I didn't - chicken).

 

I was such a coaster sissy when I was in my early teens that my friend got totally pissed at me when I wouldn't ride Dragon Fire, which was the 2nd biggest coaster in the park. I thought Ghoster Coaster was about my limit so I rode that and a bunch of flats...that was it. I was scared silly of riding ANY "big" coasters when I was younger!

 

It wasn't till I was practically forced on Gemini (by the same friend that threatened to tell friends at school) that I truly began loving coasters, even though Gemini's first hill totally terrified me. I had to ride it multiple times to get over that fear of flying out of the train.

[Cyber.Fiber]

I can't seem to find anything at the moment... and if anyone can find something on this accident, please post it.

 

I read an article and saw some photos of a Togo Stand-up in (I believe) Japan where a wheel fell off, the train derailed to the side and crushed a guy against the emergency catwalk. That was pretty shocking. Brings a new meaning to "Death machine"

 

There is a whole thread dedicated to it here: http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=35254

 

I believe the accident was a result of the wheel axles having hairline fractures through the welds. They were not seen as a result of the park not preforming annual X-RAY scans of the axle welds in addition to the regular inspections of the ride. Such a sad accident.

[TheDarkMaxim]

Okay, I have two accidents from two different parks, but they were off from the same type of coaster.

 

200? - Six Flags New England - Superman Ride of Steel - A handicaped man that rode in the front was thrown from the ride during the ride's final bunny hops. He had a huge belly which prevented the restraints to fully lock him into his seat. It caused the train to add tighter seatbelts and restraints, thus only skinny-winks could ride it.

 

This year - Darien Lake - Ride of Steel - A Iraqi vet was thrown from the ride due to his amputee leg and half-a-hip that made the tighter lap restraints useless in keeping him in his seat.

 

So far, no tragedy like that has happened to the only Ride of Steel coaster remaining, and that's located in Six Flags America.

 

Perhaps those coasters should do away with the tighter lap restraints and use the over-the-shoulder harnesses that coasters such as The Kingsta Ka and the Intimidator uses.

 

"I'll tell you: if a certain someone doesn't get off this computer right now and join me in bed, then that person will suffer an accident - and it won't be pretty!!!"

 

Close but no cigar......

 

1999 Is the year the incident you refered to occurred. Also, it was Superman Ride Of Steel at Darien Lake, and he survived.

 

2001 Superman Ride Of Steel at Six Flags New England the two trains collided, injuring 21.

 

2004 Similarly to the Darien Lake incident a man too large flew out of Superman Ride Of Steel at Six Flags New England, however he died. This also led to similar modifications to the restraint system.

 

2011 An Iraq war veteran flew out of Ride Of Steel at Darien Lake, the cause is still officially under investigation. Though yes his lap situation played a role in this incident.

[Mechanic]

Most Notable Accident: This thread? Just saying...

[larrygator]

200? - Six Flags New England - Superman Ride of Steel - A handicaped man that rode in the front was thrown from the ride during the ride's final bunny hops. He had a huge belly which prevented the restraints to fully lock him into his seat. It caused the train to add tighter seatbelts and restraints, thus only skinny-winks could ride it.

 

Fat people can still ride, I've seen it many times. Not so good for extra, super fat people though.

[tdub96]

For me it was the Batman: The Ride accident where the boy went to retrieve a lost hat in the restricted area of the ride, and.....yeah...

[Sir Clinksalot]

I know it's been mentioned previously, but just because it's "Disney" I think the Big Thunder accident is the most notable.

 

Also, while not technically a "ride accident", the death at Disneyland on the Mark Twain dock was pretty significant.

 

On December 24, 1998, a cleat used to secure the ship to the dock tore loose, striking park visitors Luan Phi Dawson, 33, of Duvall, Washington and his wife in the head, as their son and grandchild and other horrified park visitors looked on. Dawson was declared brain dead two days later and died when his life support system was disconnected. A park employee was also injured.

[StarTrekGeek]

The Batman incident a few years back (SFOG) and the Ride of Steel incident recently (Darien Lake).

[mandy_Reeves]

I remember when my baby sitter went on Lightnin' Loops at SFGA in like 1984...she lifted her arms and the bar came up as they went down a hill....I also nearly fell out of Rolling Thunder about 14 years ago...maybe that was just extreme air time?

[Noporian]

Here in finland once in a giant frisbee style ride an op died by being splashed into pieces and sludge by the pendulum. The op tried to retrieve a shoe or a cap i think. The people who the blood flew on (or the guts) must have trauma for life.

[eltororider]

For me it was the Batman: The Ride accident where the boy went to retrieve a lost hat in the restricted area of the ride, and.....yeah...

 

Yea that was the first major death story involving a roller coaster i ever paid attention to. It was his own fault though but i agree that's probably the most notable death involving a roller coaster i can recall. Poor kid was only 17.

[Geauga Dog]

Just went through this thread again. Another one to mention was Black Sunday at Kings Island when the drunk woman fell out of Flight Commander as well as the guys who were electrocuted in the pond by Viking Fury.

[Double0Kevin]

Going back to Big Thunder at DL, I think that has to be one of the worst because of the monumental failure on so many employees. I remember reading the OSHA safety report after the investigation had been completed. Not only had the safety cables not been attached properly in the event of a coupling failure (which is what happened), but the operators who reported hearing unusual noises coming from the train approximately 12-13 cycles and never removed the train from service. It's scary to think that they had so many opportunities to prevent the problem and someone ended up loosing their life.

 

Another one I remember was shown to us at a Skycoaster convention a few years back where they played a video of why they have policies about shutting down in high winds (we weren't told what park it was, but they no longer have a Skycoaster and it wasn't in the US). Basically a young girl around 11 was made on swig through the structure and on on her way back she was blown into the flight tower going nearly 60mph. I believe she made a full recovery, but still something that has stuck in my head and pretty terrible.

[stashua123]

As mentioned before the "Black Sunday" incident(s) 3 people got killed in one day and 2 incidents happened in one day what are the odds of that?

 

Also the SoB accident was pretty bad considering 30 people got injured and it showed how the CBS Corp Paramount Parks did not upkeep their rides. I know it was under Cedar Fair (for only 3 weeks!) at the time but by the time cedar fair came in the struture was already detoriating so thats why i put the blame on Cbs Paramount.

 

Also i seem to recall a 2001 accident on the beast that the train did not stop completely and collided after the rain made the brakes not work and injured like 31 people. This is what cause the beast to get the dreaded magnetic trim brakes and brakes.

 

BTW people always say that the kentucky kingdom acident happened on Drop Zone at KI(yes i still call it that)makes me laugh

[GayCoasterGuy]

Every other non-coaster-geek person that I talk to about parks (or coasters) has some "great story" about how they nearly fell/flew out of some coaster - but their dad grabbed em at the last minute!

 

This girl told me a story about how she got "stuck upside down" on the Demon at Great America. She said it wasn't "as bad" as when the ride got stuck in the loop in 1998 (which made headlines); rather "it was just a few minutes or so." So.... she got stuck upside down on Demon!? Oh my... I asked "what happened - did they have to get you out?" and she said "no, the ride just started up again." Sounds perfectly legit to me...

[Taylor Finn]

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_Park

 

Read the whole thing, full of some bizarre stuff. Always amazing this place survived as long as it did.

[ArizonaGuy]

I'd say most notable accident for Six Flags over Texas was 03/22/1999 when 28yr old lady drowned in the Roaring Rapids when the raft she was in capsized and she was unable to release herself from the seatbelt. The raft capsizing was said to have been caused by an under inflated raft which caused the raft and the seating unit in the center to separate.

 

This was notable for SFoT since it had been the first death in the parks 38 year history until that day.

 

Here's one for Astroworld

October 19, 2003: Seven people at Six Flags Astroworld in Houston were treated and released from a local hospital after a 2x6 board fell into the middle of a Texas Cyclone coaster train while the ride was running.

[Jew]

Anytime there is a fatality on a ride it is notable. Thunder Mountain probably got the most press, being that it was Disneyland. But they are all horrible and all noteworthy in their local market.

[azza29]

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_Park

 

Read the whole thing, full of some bizarre stuff. Always amazing this place survived as long as it did.

 

Reading through that, I feel like we may have found a winner for the 'most notable' prize. Park was a deathtrap!

[travanx]

I would have to say, with what I've read, the Mindbender at Galaxyland. After the second loop the back car came off the track and started fishtailing which caused a few people to be flung from the back car. It came to the third loop and couldn't make it, due to it losing a lot of speed. It started going back through the previous track until it finally ran into a concrete support struckture, killing three and nearly killing a fourth. (all this info was gathered from wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mindbender_%28Galaxyland%29#Crash)

 

Another notable one that was caused due to the rider and not the park was at Waterworld USA(I'm not sure if we are counting water parks here so if not sorry, but i still consider this horrific ). A graduating high school class was trying to beat the record for most students on a waterslide at one time. They all ignored the life guard and rushed onto the slide filling it to near quadruple recommended capacity. The water slide then collapsed killing one girl and injuring 30 more. I found out about this from a newstory a few years back while watching youtube. heres a link to what happened http://articles.cnn.com/1997-06-03/us/9706_03_water.slide_1_water-slide-waterworld-usa-banzai-pipeline?_s=PM:US

 

I remember the waterslide incident. As my college freshman roomate's good friend was one of the people on that waterslide when that happened. He seemed pretty messed up from it happening. I was a big theme park person back then and couldn't believe it when he was telling the story.

[jray21]

So then what were they intending to do? Anybody with half a brain should know not to do something like that. They intended to cause problems which resulted in the ride falling, therefore it is their fault as their neglegence caused that to happen.

 

Alright, I'm going to agree with you there. They were being stupid end of story. Just call it a lack of age thing (I'm pretty sure 40 trumps 18 in this case). I still believe that it was a horrific story though.

 

Yeah it was awful, terrible, horrible, all of that, but once again stupidity rears its ugly head, and I agree with you about the age thing.

 

I remember seeing that story on the news here, it was just, terrible. Eventhough they were complete idiots I would not wish that on anybody. I don't know, or want to, what would be worse, being involved in an accident like that or the Mindbender one.

 

I wasn't there that day, but I did work at that park at the time. I was there the next day and had to drive the guard that was at the top of the slide to the park for de-briefings. It was definitely the kids fault. I also had to help clean up the scene when they finally released it. Very sad stuff. The parents went through a divorce, and ended up settling for a tiny amount because they didn't want to deal with each other.

 

I think one of the most notable, at least in the theme park industry, would be the Space Flight accident that killed six people. It was in China, so it wasn't covered too long here, but a pretty major accident.

[cfc]

I think one of the most notable, at least in the theme park industry, would be the Space Flight accident that killed six people. It was in China, so it wasn't covered too long here, but a pretty major accident.

 

That was at Knight Valley--the ride pavilion is still there.

 

 

This horrible accident led to a crackdown on ride safety in China.

Edited December 4, 2012 by cfc