disco2000 Posted July 5, 2021 Share Posted July 5, 2021 So sad. Another Intamin tragedy. https://www.cbs46.com/1-dead-3-injured-in-accident-on-raging-river-ride-at-adventureland-amusement-park-in/article_77d86481-73e4-5d37-83a9-bf8d01b9d861.html?block_id=688887 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBEW_Sparky Posted July 5, 2021 Share Posted July 5, 2021 Please, just stop with that. An 11 year old is dead, another child critical, and there has been NO investigation and therefore NO cause has been given for the raft capsizing.... in other words it could have happened REGARDLESS of manufacturer. R.I.P to the child, and hopefully the other pulls through. I grew up going to this park. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FUN&ONLY! Posted July 5, 2021 Share Posted July 5, 2021 This does not mean that Kings Island’s White Water Canyon or any other Intamin River Raft rides are unsafe. At this point, we don’t have an exact reason as to why the accident occurred, so until then we cannot point the blame at anyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disco2000 Posted July 5, 2021 Author Share Posted July 5, 2021 Um, where did I say it was Intamin's fault? Personally, I think if there was a belief it was the ride's fault, then all other similar rides would have been shut down as an abundance of caution, similar to how Drop Tower rides were shut down after the incident at KK, even Drop Tower rides like ours that was not the same design, and other examples we have seen from time to time. You inferred and put words in my post that I did not say. I was simply pointing out that the manufacturer was Intamin, as is our ride and it is another tragedy associated with that park and manufacturer whether we like it or not and regardless of where the fault lies. The first thing people would want to know is who made it and is it similar to ours, so I saved them the effort of researching it, even though the article that most probably will not read points out who the manufacturer was. No where did I say "Intamin's suck" or "Intamin is a death trap" or anything to that nature because we do not know at this point where the fault lies. I love Intamin rides as much as the next Intamin fanboy, and any death on any ride by any manufacturer or at any park is a tragedy, regardless of where the fault is. It was not intended as an Intamin bashing, so your assumption on my intent is inaccurate. I simply said "So sad. Another Intamin tragedy" - and all of that is accurate - whether it is operator error, maintenance error, park error, guest error, or ride manufacturer error, the fact of the matter is it is an Intamin ride regardless of who was at fault and it is another tragedy (2nd death on this ride at this park) nonetheless and it is sad for all involved, especially for the family, but it is sad for the park, the employees that were working the ride at the time, the manufacturer, etc. Even if it is determined to be guest error, people will associate it with the manufacturer and park regardless. Just like how B&M is mentioned in most news articles or other websites about park deaths regarding the Raptor death even though that was clearly guest error - that death was clearly guest error, but it unfortunately still counts as a death at Cedar Point and associated with a B&M coaster and most of us agree that it wasn't B&Ms fault, but I do remember people at the time saying they should have made the fence taller, electrified it, barbed wired it, more signage, etc., but no matter how idiot-proof you try to make something, someone will prove you wrong. I meant nothing more and you have read more into it than my 3 word sentence intended. And people wonder why I write books here..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonofBaconator Posted July 9, 2021 Share Posted July 9, 2021 Why do we have two threads on this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenban Posted July 9, 2021 Share Posted July 9, 2021 Having seen video of the overturned boat and interviews with the parents, I feel like I need to say something. I am not concerned about how the boat ended up upside down. I am also pretty much ready to not blame the manufacturer. Frankly while something went wrong this is a free floating raft ride no matter how well maintained or designed the ride is there is always a chance something could go wrong, what happens next, how the park figures out something has gone wrong, and how the park responds is what I am concerned with. Also what can a guest do when the worst occurs. As far as I can tell the park had no monitoring of the course beyond the station. When the raft overturned the ride was not shut down, and I do not believe the park had any idea something had happened until the next raft with guests on it returned to the station which happened to have a guest filming the ride which is how we have video of the overturned raft. When someone is trapped underwater seconds matter. These rides have a huge pool of water at the end of the ride which is the lowest point, so most of the ride rapidly drains when the pumps are turned off. This incident appears to have occurred at a point which would have drained without the pumps operating. The shacks throughout the path of the ride on White Water Canyon at Kings Island are there to monitor for accidents so that something can be done if something does happen. Because there is always that chance of something happening I really have an issue with locking restraints on rides like this. I have no idea what type of restraints this specific ride has. I have never been to the park. This is more of a general complaint. I am fine with Velcro but think that anything which is difficult to release in an emergency on a raft ride is a mistake. The parents made it out, and I have heard guests from other rafts jumped into the water to assist in the rescue so obviously it could not have been too difficult to release. But thinking clearly enough when something has gone horribly wrong to release a seat belt is difficult. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FUN&ONLY! Posted July 9, 2021 Share Posted July 9, 2021 50 minutes ago, Kenban said: Having seen video of the overturned boat and interviews with the parents, I feel like I need to say something. I am not concerned about how the boat ended up upside down. I am also pretty much ready to not blame the manufacturer. Frankly while something went wrong this is a free floating raft ride no matter how well maintained or designed the ride is there is always a chance something could go wrong, what happens next, how the park figures out something has gone wrong, and how the park responds is what I am concerned with. Also what can a guest do when the worst occurs. As far as I can tell the park had no monitoring of the course beyond the station. When the raft overturned the ride was not shut down, and I do not believe the park had any idea something had happened until the next raft with guests on it returned to the station which happened to have a guest filming the ride which is how we have video of the overturned raft. When someone is trapped underwater seconds matter. These rides have a huge pool of water at the end of the ride which is the lowest point, so most of the ride rapidly drains when the pumps are turned off. This incident appears to have occurred at a point which would have drained without the pumps operating. The shacks throughout the path of the ride on White Water Canyon at Kings Island are there to monitor for accidents so that something can be done if something does happen. Because there is always that chance of something happening I really have an issue with locking restraints on rides like this. I have no idea what type of restraints this specific ride has. I have never been to the park. This is more of a general complaint. I am fine with Velcro but think that anything which is difficult to release in an emergency on a raft ride is a mistake. The parents made it out, and I have heard guests from other rafts jumped into the water to assist in the rescue so obviously it could not have been too difficult to release. But thinking clearly enough when something has gone horribly wrong to release a seat belt is difficult. I agree that it seems like Adventureland did not run the their rapids ride up to the standard Cedar Fair and Six Flags run theirs. As far as I know, Intamin River Rapids rides in the Cedar Fair and Six Flags chains all have multiple towers located throughout the ride with employees that are watching the course at all times (and sometimes spraying guests). I know most rapids rides are run like this, but it is crazy if Adventureland didn’t have any employees watching along the course. I know their may be a few “blindspots” on White Water Canyon at Kings Island, but the course is still monitored pretty thoroughly. I also don’t mind the seatbelts on White Water Canyon at Kings Island. You can literally unlock it with one hand in two seconds. I do think all seatbelts on river rapids rides should be easy to undo in case of accidents like this. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imperial79 Posted July 11, 2021 Share Posted July 11, 2021 More info being released on what happened. Not good for the park at all. https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2021/07/09/adventureland-park-fatal-accident-2021-raging-river-ride-11-year-old-drowned-michael-jaramillo-david/7912842002/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterSG1 Posted July 11, 2021 Share Posted July 11, 2021 Not to defend Adventureland, but they sort of are caught in a vice here. Any kind of serious tragic incident, unfortunately causes people to become less human as to avoid legal troubles that the greasy lawyers will take advantage of. As for ride ops, this exact same ride had a ride op die because they fell into the conveyor system, you think anyone there after that would even risk trying to approach the dangerous machinery of the ride, even if you hit the emergency stop button who’s to say that completely works. Maybe this ride needs a total rethink regarding safety restraints, but as of yesterday, Wonderland’s version White Water Canyon is still running. Maybe another option are emergency turn off valves that guests could even reach around the ride? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orion13 Posted February 5, 2023 Share Posted February 5, 2023 The ride has now been closed permanently. https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2023/02/04/adventurelands-raging-river-permanently-closed-after-2021-fatal-accident-michael-jaramillo/69873220007/ 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terry wass Posted February 5, 2023 Share Posted February 5, 2023 . the raft in question for this tragedy was flat even though it had been repaired the previous day. this whole situatiuon appears to be improper training and procedures. I mean really using flex seal to patch the bladders. I wouldn't even flex seal on the floaties in my pool at home. Seems odd that they think it would be too much to bring the ride back to operational standards. My guess is that they would have to relace all the rafts and they felt it would be too much. they were reported to have 17 violations for the ride and as usuall it isn't the manufacturer at fault but rather the operations at the individual park. truly a sad story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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