Another Slingshot accident

[larrygator]

https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/world/-oh-my-god-amusement-park-terror-as-cable-snaps-on-slingshot-ride-q05127

 

 

'Oh, my God!' Amusement park terror as cable snaps on slingshot ride

 

A woman suffered a broken leg after a cable snapped on a ride at a French theme park, sending a cage crashing into a support column.

The incident happened at Luna Park in southern France, leaving one thrill seeker with a broken leg.

 

An elastic cable snapped mid-ride, sending the cage that contained thrill seekers into a support structure.

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They were reportedly left stranded in the air for around an hour before firefighters were able to come to their rescue.

 

A 24-year-old woman was left with a broken leg, while the other person on the ride was unharmed, Herault 24 has reported.

 

The accident has been blamed on a "manufacturing defect" in the elastic.

 

[KBrylczyk]

You know, when the last one happened at Mount Olympus, I mentioned to a friend that I though the elastic ones had been outlawed. I was quickly corrected, of course.

 

I think it's time to outlaw the elastic ones. Those cords don't hold up very well over the years. They get brittle and snap easily, as has been demonstrated twice now in the last month.

[dippindotsguy8]

This is really unfortunate. I wonder why parks seem to be having issues with these now. One would think regular inspection and replacing the cords when due would prevent this kind of thing.

[DoinItForTheFame]

You know, when the last one happened at Mount Olympus, I mentioned to a friend that I though the elastic ones had been outlawed. I was quickly corrected, of course.

 

I think it's time to outlaw the elastic ones. Those cords don't hold up very well over the years. They get brittle and snap easily, as has been demonstrated twice now in the last month.

 

I agree 100%. I really enjoy the spring launched Slingshot Rides! However, I avoid the elastic ones for this very reason. Also, the elastic Slingshot rides are not nearly as smooth as the spring launched!

 

Hope the rider with the broken leg has a quick recovery. Glad it wasn't worse.

[dippindotsguy8]

You know, when the last one happened at Mount Olympus, I mentioned to a friend that I though the elastic ones had been outlawed. I was quickly corrected, of course.

 

I think it's time to outlaw the elastic ones. Those cords don't hold up very well over the years. They get brittle and snap easily, as has been demonstrated twice now in the last month.

 

I agree 100%. I really enjoy the spring launched Slingshot Rides! However, I avoid the elastic ones for this very reason. Also, the elastic Slingshot rides are not nearly as smooth as the spring launched!

 

Hope the rider with the broken leg has a quick recovery. Glad it wasn't worse.

 

 

The elastic ones are way more intense, IMO, and should be perfectly safe if operated and maintained properly. That said, I do think we will continue to see them phased out in favor of the newer models made by Funtime. Guests seem more comfortable with cables moving at a high speed than bungee cords.

[rcjp]

^I've never ridden a slingshot before but I do get the impression that the elastic ones are more intense. So I do find it a shame that they don't seem to be as safe as the cable model.

Hope the rider has a quick recovery.

[DJeXeL]

Anyone know what manufacturer this was? It's not a FunTime model by the looks of the towers.

[canadianparkfan]

Looks like a pretty serious accident, however, could've been worse. Some models don't have the cage around the riders. I always thought the cage was a good idea for this very case.

 

Regardless, hope the riders have a quick recovery.

[michaellynn4]

Terrible to hear about the accident. Glad it was limited to just a broken leg, this could've been a lot worse.

 

As for what should happen with these types of rides going forward, it really just depends on whether "poor park maintenance" or "manufacturing defect" was the actual root cause of the two accidents. If it's the latter, who knows, you might see these start to go the way of the Chaos rides in the mid-2000s.

 

I'm not really familiar with mechanics of either the spring-loaded or elastic versions. Would someone with more knowledge be able to comment on how feasible replacing one system with the other without removing the whole ride altogether? Instincts tell me it's not really feasible, but I'm curious.

[thedlr]

I had no idea there were two technologies in use. I rode the one in Orlando about a decade ago, which I guess uses springs.

[KingRCT3]

^ Yep.

 

Anyone know what manufacturer this was? It's not a FunTime model by the looks of the towers.

 

Technical Park. This is an Ejection Seat by the way. The name SlingShot usually refers to the spring-loaded ones.

I rode two of them in my life (and not a single SlingShot, but I really want to. They indeed looks smoother -the Ejection flips like crazy, it's notalways enjoyable- yet less intense in the launch)

.

I don't want them to close! The launch is really, really amazing and it's something you don't see elswhere. Really cool ride.

 

I didn't know two unrelated accidents would seal their fate, despite +15 years of safe operation. I'm only aware of one another accident like that. Seriously, elastics just need maintenance (they must be changed every 200 jumps if I remember correctly), like cables. Those snap too and we still have rides using them.