NEWS: Riders stranded at Texas State Fair

[gisco]

One of the State Fair of Texas' tallest rides malfunctioned Friday night, stranding two dozen riders in the air for more than two hours.

 

Riders in the Stratosphere's hanging seats were stuck dangling about 165 feet in air when the ride lost power at about 9:11 p.m.

 

Carol Stradtman, one of the stranded riders, told NBC 5 by phone that all of the lights went off and the ride just stopped.

 

"It's extremely scary," she said.

 

The 24 riders were on the ground at about 11:20 p.m. Dallas Fire-Rescue said all of the occupants were safely removed from the ride after it was manually lowered.

 

Power was restored to the ride by 10:50 p.m., but there appeared to be some issue that prevented the ride from immediately lowering its passengers.

 

Two Dallas Fire-Rescue technical rescue trucks were at the fair to help.

 

Stradtman told NBC 5 that someone had climbed the center of the tower at about 9:40 p.m. and appeared to manually attempt to bring them down. She said a friend who was not on the ride said there was some kind of mechanical difficulty but said she had not been given an update on when or how they would get off the ride.

 

No injuries have been reported, Dallas police said.

 

The Stratosphere, a 200-foot tall tower, turns and swings riders out over the fair.

 

The Dutch-made ride stalled at the Minnesota State Fair twice in as many days in August, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.

 

Article with video

 

They are having a very memorable fair this year!

[KBrylczyk]

Is that a Star Flyer ripoff? It seems nobody knows how to properly build these things except for Funtime, haha.

 

If that is a legit Funtime Star Flyer, though, my point is moot.

[Hurricane]

It's a KMG version of the Starflier. KMG make popular rides such as the Tango, Speed, Experience and Fireball

[KBrylczyk]

It's a KMG version of the Starflier. KMG make popular rides such as the Tango, Speed, Experience and Fireball

 

Oh, I know KMG. I'm a fan of theirs. It just seems that nobody knows how to build a tall swing ride except for Funtime. The Windseekers are plagued with problems, now KMG stalls out, probably some other missteps in the past with other versions, too. It seems Six Flags actually made a correct decision for once with going with Funtime.

[cfc]

It's the Curse of Big Tex! In forty days and forty nights, he was rise from the ashes as vengeful zombie, saying "Howdy" to people before he snatches them up and eats them!