This actually makes me think they are pretty safe. They get a lot of “hands-on” time. The people are probably very familiar with them and can spot trouble, make repairs as needed.
Yeah, pretty optimistic, right?
The news this morning showed this story, which the video is jaw-dropping, but then shared another photo of the same location from about a month ago with the crack evident but not all the way thru the support. I am not sure if the person who took that photo reported the issue, but the whole “the rides are inspected daily” thing seems like a farce. “Safety is our top priority”, uhh, evidently not - if it takes one of your guests to notice and report such a problem!
My wife and I walked around one of those parking lot carnivals a few years ago, and did ride a couple of the rides. However, we passed on the small roller coaster when we noticed that the support struts rested on sawed-off chunks of 2x4s, shimmed in under the feet, exactly the way a restaurant will cram a folded-up napkin under a wobbly table leg. What really persuaded us was seeing a carney hammering one in…as the ride was in motion.
In case you were wondering how quickly the ride was shut down after the crack was reported (to multiple people), there was apparently no rush at all.
As [Wagner] peered at the Fury 325, a car hit one of the ride’s turns, pressing into the track and exacerbating what seemed to be a crack in a steel support pillar. At first, Wagner dismissed the idea that he’d just found a flaw. He figured the crack was part of the structure’s design… He turned his attention back to the Fury 325 as another car hit the turn. This time, he saw light shooting through the expanded crack before the car passed and the crack contracted. He knew something was wrong. Wagner got out of the truck, flagged down a Carowinds employee and pointed out the crack. “I was like, ‘Y’all need to shut this ride down. That’s bad news,’” Wagner recalled telling the man. Unsatisfied with what he described as the man’s “lack of urgency,” Wagner went back into the park, where he spoke to several more employees. He eventually talked to someone in guest services, who asked him to send her the video he’d shot of the crack. Once he had, Wagner said, she walked away. “The biggest thing for me — there was no sense of urgency,” he said… Wagner left, unnerved. During the hour-long drive home, his dread ate at him… He feared the pillar would fail, sending a car shooting off the tracks and diving into a crowd below. If tragedy struck and he hadn’t done more to shut down the ride, Wagner knew he would blame himself and forever wonder whether he could have prevented it.
[Unfortunately paywalled]
That’s going to vary by state. I expect some are very on top of inspections and some… well, it wouldn’t surprise me if some states do no inspections at all.
I can’t tell from the video - is this support pillar steel or concrete? I can’t imagine steel cracking like that but I also can’t imagine concrete sheering like that. Anyone know for sure?
I’m fairly sure steel. I remember reading somewhere that it started from an inadequate weld.
I’ve ridden it multiple times & walked under it. It’s all steel.
Decades ago, my uncle (a hydraulic engineer) did some inspection work at nearby carnivals. I had the impression it was at the start of the season; of course, regulations could easily have changed since the 1970s.
Let’s hope so!
Hopefully for the better!
Dream on.
More roller coaster related madness…
This should be on the list of Things You Need To Know. Bravo!
I try to reuse super glue tubes, with limited success. You can often get a few uses by poking through the dried glue with a needle to squeeze more out. But yeah, it tends to dry out over time.
I’ve had good luck buying superglue in plastic bottles. Store in refrigerator. The tiny metal tubes, yeah, fuggedaboutit.
I am surprised it is being repaired so quickly [I thought they would have to do lots of investigations first].
Gotta get the dollars rolling in. Investigations can wait.
I am surprised they had another support beam of just the right size laying around. What, do they keep back-up hardware like that, just in case?
The new support beam even came pre-repaired.
(wink, wink, nudge, nudge)