Clearing Up "Black Sunday"

[KIghostguy]

Hello everybody. There is a LOT of misinformation going around about the tragic "Black Sunday" accidents at the park. I decided to write a blog post about it, clearing up all misinformation and giving the most accurate narratives of each event based on my 200+ pages of newspaper articles I have collected regarding the events. I also wrote about some ghost stories regarding both accidents. I do not make any money from this blog.

https://kingsislandghost.blogspot.com/2022/01/the-paranormal-echoes-of-kings-islands.html

[Gordon Bombay]

2 hours ago, KIghostguy said:

I decided to write a blog post about it, clearing up all misinformation and giving the most accurate narratives of each event based on my 200+ pages of newspaper articles I have collected regarding the events. 

Cool

I also wrote about some ghost stories regarding both accidents.

Wut

[Spectrum91]

Excellent article and fantastic research! I agree with Gordon Bombay above that maybe the actual events and alleged ghost stories may work best in separate articles (or at least that's how I'm interpreting his post).

 

Quick question though... toward the end of the article you mention that Flight Commander closed after 1995 and was sold for scrap. What's your source for this? I've been trying to figure out the ride's fate for a while now and stumbled upon an old post (https://KICentral.com/forums/index.php?/topic/130-flight-commander/&tab=comments#comment-1757) that suggests it may have been relocated to Flamingo Land in the UK. Flamingo Land's flight trainer (ironically named Top Gun) operated from 1996 through 2004 and a picture of it can be seen here.

[KIghostguy]

5 hours ago, Spectrum91 said:

I've been trying to figure out the ride's fate for a while now and stumbled upon an old post (https://KICentral.com/forums/index.php?/topic/130-flight-commander/&tab=comments#comment-1757) that suggests it may have been relocated to Flamingo Land in the UK. Flamingo Land's flight trainer (ironically named Top Gun) operated from 1996 through 2004 and a picture of it can be seen here.

That is very interesting. Except for opening the same year that Flight Commander was removed, there isn't really anything conclusive to say they are one and the same.

[Shaggy]

Kings Island's Flight Commander was indeed relocated to Flamingo Land.

Intamin built 4 "Flight Trainer" rides in the USA:  Kings Island's (Flight Commander), Kings Dominion (Sky Pilot), California's Great America (Skyhawk) and Knott's Berry Farm (XK-1)

The KI version was closed following the 1995 season and sold.  The Knott's version operated through 1997, the KD version operated until 1998, and the Great America version until 1999.

Knott's version was sold to Seibuen Yuenchi (a park in Japan) and was called simply "Flight Trainer" (the Intamin Catalog name.)

Kings Island's was sent to Flamingoland where it was called Top Gun.  The clincher is that this version was the only one that included a larger octagonal box at the top.  When re-located to Flamingoland, it was painted to resemble the windows of an Air Traffic Control Tower.

[KIghostguy]

1 hour ago, Shaggy said:

Kings Island's Flight Commander was indeed relocated to Flamingo Land.

Intamin built 4 "Flight Trainer" rides in the USA:  Kings Island's (Flight Commander), Kings Dominion (Sky Pilot), California's Great America (Skyhawk) and Knott's Berry Farm (XK-1)

The KI version was closed following the 1995 season and sold.  The Knott's version operated through 1997, the KD version operated until 1998, and the Great America version until 1999.

Knott's version was sold to Seibuen Yuenchi (a park in Japan) and was called simply "Flight Trainer" (the Intamin Catalog name.)

Kings Island's was sent to Flamingoland where it was called Top Gun.  The clincher is that this version was the only one that included a larger octagonal box at the top.  When re-located to Flamingoland, it was painted to resemble the windows of an Air Traffic Control Tower.

Much thanks for the info, I’ll add that to the blog post.

[Spectrum91]

59 minutes ago, Shaggy said:

Kings Island's Flight Commander was indeed relocated to Flamingo Land.

Intamin built 4 "Flight Trainer" rides in the USA:  Kings Island's (Flight Commander), Kings Dominion (Sky Pilot), California's Great America (Skyhawk) and Knott's Berry Farm (XK-1)

The KI version was closed following the 1995 season and sold.  The Knott's version operated through 1997, the KD version operated until 1998, and the Great America version until 1999.

Knott's version was sold to Seibuen Yuenchi (a park in Japan) and was called simply "Flight Trainer" (the Intamin Catalog name.)

Kings Island's was sent to Flamingoland where it was called Top Gun.  The clincher is that this version was the only one that included a larger octagonal box at the top.  When re-located to Flamingoland, it was painted to resemble the windows of an Air Traffic Control Tower.

Regarding the last line, it appears Kings Dominion's version also had an octagonal box at top - https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/134/358571356_6fe6c84fc7_z.jpg?zz=1.

There's also been claims it was relocated to Play Centre in Brazil (https://KICentral.com/forums/index.php?/topic/8549-what-happened-to-flight-commander/&do=findComment&comment=137752), but I've never been able to find a picture of a flight trainer there, only reports of one.

[KIghostguy]

It's also worth noting that a fifth Flight Trainer was operating in the US at the time of the accident. It was called "Flight Trainer" and opened in 1991 at Rye Playland in New York. I've yet to see any photos of it yet, though.

[KIghostguy]

13 hours ago, Gordon Bombay said:

Wut

I thought I would cover a unique aspect that I have yet to see written about before. I know many other people, myself included, find it interesting.

[Spectrum91]

27 minutes ago, KIghostguy said:

It's also worth noting that a fifth Flight Trainer was operating in the US at the time of the accident. It was called "Flight Trainer" and opened in 1991 at Rye Playland in New York. I've yet to see any photos of it yet, though.

Interesting, I never knew there was a fifth. Here's a picture of it, from the Save Rye Playland Facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/ArtDecoPLAYLAND/about/):

And from a May 1998 article in The Journal News:

Quote

The county was saddled with a $1 million ride called the Flight Trainer that it bought in 1991 and operated for about a week before it was shut down for safety concerns. It later sold the ride at a loss of $20,100.

However, an August 25, 1991 article in The Courier-News says:

Quote

Opening in a couple of weeks for older children and adults is The Flight Trainer, a ride 69 feet off the ground that simulates flying a plain.

So I'm not sure if one of the articles is incorrect, or if the ride didn't open until September 1991 and barely operated. I also wonder where it was relocated if it was sold.

[bjcolglazier]

So basically all lives lost were the result of poor park management, and a bad ride design.  Lovely.  NOT.  Ghost-story all you want...none of these folks should have died at the park.  It was just a different era, and lessons were learned...thank heavens.

[KIghostguy]

6 hours ago, bjcolglazier said:

So basically all lives lost were the result of poor park management, and a bad ride design.  Lovely.  NOT.  Ghost-story all you want...none of these folks should have died at the park.  It was just a different era, and lessons were learned...thank heavens.

Yes. It is very sad how preventable these accidents were, in particular the pond one. $8-$10 would have saved two people’s lives.

[Saerenzea]

Type into Google "windows startup sound roller coaster" it's a video of a guy on Diamondback passing in and out. It may or may not he fake but it's funny and shows how modern rides don't let limp or passed out riders fall out. Disclaimer... There is cussing and laughter. 

 

[jcgoble3]

20 hours ago, Saerenzea said:

Type into Google "windows startup sound roller coaster" it's a video of a guy on Diamondback passing in and out. It may or may not he fake but it's funny and shows how modern rides don't let limp or passed out riders fall out. Disclaimer... There is cussing and laughter.

The video in question (which I've seen several times on Facebook) was also filmed by a rider next to him in direct violation of the policy prohibiting use of cameras on rides. So I personally wouldn't use a video demonstrating a blatant violation of safety rules as an example of how safe rides are.