The Interpreter Posted December 19, 2007 Share Posted December 19, 2007 http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/071219/amusement_p...ident.html?.v=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastersRZ Posted December 19, 2007 Share Posted December 19, 2007 The very last paragraph states that the cables were visually inspected twice a week. One has to wonder how often Intamin recommends that the cables be visually inspected. (Personally, I would think that would be part of the daily maintenance checks before the ride opens each day). It would also be interesting to know how often Kings Island visually checks the cables on Drop Zone. I do find the comments about stopping the ride automatically a little puzzling. The details about when the cable broke are still some what shrouded in mystery. But, I would think that the ride operators on that particular ride would be able to e-stop the ride as soon as they saw the cable break, assuming they were alert and paying attention to the ride as it completed its cycle. I know that I have been e-stopped on Drop Zone at Kings Island (because some girl started crying and screaming she wanted off when we were five feet off the ground). Granted, there likely should be some sort of emergency cut off if a sensor senses a loss of tension force in one of the cables, indicative of a cable failure. However, once the ride vehicle is released from the catch car, it is controlled by gravity until the ride`s permanent magnets bring the ride to a stop. In other words, once the catch car releases the ride vehicle, there is no way to stop the ride vehicle before the built in braking stops the ride. It will be interesting to see if we ever hear the results of the cable tests. And if we ever hear a definitive cause to this very tragic accident. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kwindshawne Posted December 19, 2007 Share Posted December 19, 2007 Would stopping the ride have even mattered? When the cable snaps, it would be too quick to stop. Plus I don't remember-did the cable snap on the way up or during freefall? If during freefall, I don't see how it could have been prevented. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon Bombay Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 It wasn't the cable snapping that severed her feet, it became wrapped around her feet, then when the ride dropped... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastersRZ Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 Ah. That is exactly why I said that specific details on how the accident actually occurred have been blurry at best. None of us enthusiasts or the general public knows exactly what happened and when in the ride cycle it happened. And we likely won`t know for some time until the litigation and the state accident investigation process are completed. We will hopefully find out what caused the cable to fail to begin with, especially if the state of Kentucky issues an accident investigation report, similar to what Ohio issued with their findings on the Son of Beast accident. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kwindshawne Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 That is what I want to know-if the cable snapped on the way up or down-I mean it horrifies me to think of a cable wrapping around someone like that. If it snapped on the way up, and I was the ride op, I am not sure I could live with that. When my ex was on the aircraft carrier, a guy got his finger caught in the tailhook cable and severed 2 of them before he even knew what happened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastersRZ Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 Yeah. It is scary what can happen in an instant. That is why as a ride op, you are trained to constantly scan the ride to make sure the guests and the ride are behaving the way they are supposed to (and why most rides have an e-stop button). You have to remember that these rides are pieces of heavy machinery. Sometimes things go drastically wrong, such as in this incident. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDCOASTERFAN Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 Would stopping the ride have even mattered? When the cable snaps, it would be too quick to stop. Plus I don't remember-did the cable snap on the way up or during freefall? If during freefall, I don't see how it could have been prevented. The cable snapped on the way up & like Gordon Bombay said wrapped around her legs just before the catch car released. Now what I would like to know is how can they simply reverse the catch car to bring the gondola down for an emergency evacuation? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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