Browntggrr

Given MF reopened after the repairs & re-inspected by ODoA one day later gives the appearance necessary parts were on hand- just not used. What if the part did not fall where park guests could witness it? How long would MF continue to operate? This is very disheartening.

What disqualifies an eyewitness statement shortly after the tragedy? Anyone can notice someone else's restraints locking/ unlocking along with being checked a few times by ride operators- even a "normal/ non-enthusiast" can see things that are not normal. The video of the couple being interviewed in their is VERY telling. You could hear the fear in their voice. I really felt for them when they mentioned seeing his eyes and trying to grab the victim but could not hold on due to the forces of the ride & moment. Ironically, it's the typical thoosie that provides the worst information because they want everyone to know they know more than the typical guest and will unnecessarily split hairs just to argue an irrelevant point. EDIT- added the eyewitness video: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/19vBjUy2tU/ Yes, context does matter, comparing driving a car to enjoying a coaster is as apples & oranges as you can get. Why the need to "counter" anything? Coasters overall have a suburb safety record. There is no need to do a comparison to anything that is being spun as unsafe (a more accurate comparison would be B&M to Intamin). It should also be noted I was referring to the insanity seen on FB. Needless to say, there were many terrible comments. Every safety goal, everywhere, is for zero safety occurrences- so the intent is to prevent all bad outcomes. If there was not a fatality, there would be no emotional response. What examples do you have where an emotional response has guided an engineering decision? Your "why stop there" is the exact emotional response you referred to and one we don't need. It's a really petty comment given nobody here has even come close to suggesting anything of the sort. Could a seatbelt have saved his life? Likely yes, but that is not 100% guaranteed. It reminds me when a motorcyclist attempts to spin that a helmet will not save a life. While there are no guarantees, to dismiss a helmet just seems ignorant. I have defended the B&M restraints and overall safety measures that B&M have put into place for decades. I am as shocked as the next thrill seeker it happened and want everyone to feel safe on a coaster so they keep being added to parks. The tradeoff of an additional safety measure like a seatbelt is if the restraint fails and a fatality hopefully prevented. Adding a safety measure with the goal of saving a person's life should never be considered a "trade off".

Here is the flag plate that came off TTD. Crazy to imagine TTD going to a much larger & heavier angle iron flag plate given it is younger than MF but you never know.

When the merger went down and when the questions were answered about why go with "Six Flags" due to "brand recognition" I considered it lipstick on a pig. When the X2 story broke a few months ago and finding out knowledge issue goes back YEARS and combined with the company downturn in value the thought did enter my mind that "Six Flags" was used to fail and "Cedar Fair" could come back and rebrand the company. Now- even worse news with the fatality that isn't going anywhere -especially with new information coming out that a kid had similar restraint locking issue on Goliath earlier in the day (obviously we don't know what seat). Unfortunately these stories are going to continue. Most of us here can decipher a park issue vs. guest issue but to the majority of the public- they don't care. Put up or shut up. We know lack of staffing is why Gemini is closed on Fridays during Halloweekends. Does the once-a-year guest know that or care? No. The see a large coaster not operating and other coasters with 90 minute wait times. Granted- it's a "conspiracy theory" type thought and does do not answer the question about making poor business decisions up till now and obviously a name change will mean squat until leadership changes or long term goals change. Sorry for the rant. I just never felt good about SF even before the merger and with each passing incident/ story etc. my desire to hear "Cedar Fair" grows.

When I am referring to a human decision it's along the lines of making a quick turn into traffic, speeding, weaving in & out of traffic etc.

I do agree that parks are safe but we all know numbers/ data can always be skewed to lean the way a certain group wants them to go. What is the operating runtime between a coaster & a car? Which is safer then? It's at that point human error comes into play, many coaster "accidents" are attributed to rider negligence. Isn't car driver negligence of a car the same thing? Cars/ planes/ coasters should never be compared. The differences are too drastic. What is terrible is park safety is being applauded compared to everyday things on the heels of this tragedy. It comes off as justification of a fatality.

^ I'm aggravated over those who are spinning how safe coasters are compared to other things. Are coasters safer than cars? Yes. Should coasters be safer than cars? Absolutely! Riding a coaster does not & should not have human decision error come into play (just one quick example). And the seatbelt discussion is insane as well. People are trying to justify not having seatbelts due to load/ unload times. A MAN DIED PEOPLE! SMH

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/18RF1oJbfs/ Video of witnesses shortly after accident. Most alarming comment is how they could hear the lock/ unlock of the restraints a few times and it didn't sound right but that the ride op did check it multiple times. This leads me to believe a mechanical or design issue.

^ "graphic" is more than just blood & guts. graphic1American [graf-ik]/ ˈgræf ɪk / adjectivegiving a clear and effective picture; vivid. Synonyms: detailed, telling, striking

Then there are the people who post: "the picture wasn't that bad." Obviously they are not comprehending the picture or the results.

Watching the news this morning, witnesses from the actual train the victim was on mentioned it took a couple tries to have the restraint lock due to the clicking sound. They also mentioned they attempted to hold onto the victim but there was too much force (I also assume the "speed" to process what was happening would be milliseconds). The fear/ concern in their voices was quite apparent. I imagine there is regular PM schedule to replace the ratcheting mechanisms on the restraints. I also assume there is a specific hardness requirement for the material used & that the parts need to be purchased direct from B&M (or whoever B&M designates is an approved vendor). Too soft material & the gears will mush together. Too hard and gears become brittle and possibly snap. I'm sure the parts are traceable back to specific heat lots from material provider & whoever heat-treated (possibly even nitride after machining) & hardness tested the geared parts. The material heat lots & heat-treating process could be across hundreds of parts. Never say never but I would not expect rides with this style of restraints and/ or components to be in operation this weekend. There is a ton of data to review & check.

Watching ABC WSB 2 out of Atlanta: Current reports have the victim hitting "top" (seats) of train as it continued- thus the multiple injuries. Riders on train did witness object, originally believed to be a phone come off ride. It is now speculated it was a train part. It has also been reported the victim was "caught" on the ride cam hitting the train/ passengers. These pics are rumored to have been leaked. EDIT- pics are real & as terrible as it sounds. SFOG Goliath ride cam is near end of ride- after bunny hills. I can't imagine what anyone associated with this accident are going through. Prayers to victim & family.

^ Was that X or X2? We did back-to-back rides on X2 in 2024. It was "rough" but we did not consider it SoB rough. I suppose it depends on what year for each ride.

Rides today are more innovative and immersive than ever and combine that with the repetitive safety measures it shouldn't be a surprise that a ride like NFE has had opening issues. It's when rides like Racer, Beast, DB etc. go down it bugs me- probably more than it should. I have often defended a park when a ride goes down but as of recently its been grinding. We have experienced Disneyland in 2024 & Disney World in 2025 & 2026. Each day no matter the park there were rides down for extended amount of time. Some rides like HM that have existed for multiple decades and others like RoR or SDD that are newer designs but have been around long enough to have the bugs worked out- in theory. Muppets went down early in our day @ HS and we almost didn't get on it. But....even though it was rethemed, it's the same ride system and still goes down. So yes- I believe it is the industry as a whole.

^^ I can see the decision to shut SoB a bit easier due to not being an enjoyable ride. X2 was a pretty good ride.