Child Dies at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park

[Browntggrr]

Very sad for all directly impacted.

https://denver.cbslocal.com/2021/09/06/glenwood-caverns-adventure-park-closed-haunted-mine-drop-ride-death/?amp

[Kenban]

https://www.denverpost.com/2021/09/24/glenwood-caverns-death-child-ride-operator-error/

Well investigators know exactly what happened, and why.  Frankly it reminds of the Smiler accident.  The operators made mistake after mistake.  I get the feeling they had zero clue how to correctly operate the ride and obviously had no idea what to do when they received an error.

[disco2000]

WOW, that is unbelievable.

Wonder if this will bring back physical checking of seatbelts at parks.  Some of you may have noticed at KI, many of the rides are visual only for seatbelts.  Some of the rides even announce the ride op will visually check seat belt and it is rider responsibility to check seatbelt and ride op checks the restraint.

[coaster sally]

that ride is seatbelt only.

[disco2000]

^I know, which is even more concerning that the ride ops did not check that.

Visually inspecting seatbelt on The Beast and Racer and Diamondback is one thing considering they ran many years without one, but for a ride that the seatbelt is the only restraint, that is ridiculous. 

[FUN&ONLY!]

7 hours ago, disco2000 said:

WOW, that is unbelievable.

Wonder if this will bring back physical checking of seatbelts at parks.  Some of you may have noticed at KI, many of the rides are visual only for seatbelts.  Some of the rides even announce the ride op will visually check seat belt and it is rider responsibility to check seatbelt and ride op checks the restraint.

I think this new policy at Kings Island was too allow for quicker dispatches on rides where the seatbelt really didn’t do much. Very few rides actually need a seatbelt in addition to the actual restraint, so Kings Island probably felt like it was safe enough to eliminate seat belt checks on these rides. Really, rides like Orion and Mystic Timbers probably don’t need seatbelts either. However, when the seatbelt is the only restraint on a Drop Tower, it really needs to be checked.

[shark6495]

Right wrong or indifferent this sheds a bad light on the entire industry.

Also a good reminder that if you have young ones with you, ensure they are strapped in safely.


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[Kenban]

Here is the official report.  I feel it’s important to point out two different ride ops physically checked the girls belt.  The first pulled on the tab confirming it was locked.  The ride generated an error even indicated exactly what seat had a problem since the belt never cycled.  According to the report this ride operator proceeded to recheck the belts on all of the passengers and attempted to dispatch multiple times (it never says how many times), ignoring the fact the controls told them exactly which seat had an issue.  Then a second ride operator arrived, manually unlocked the belts, pulled the belts locking rod out, and immediately reinserted it.  All without either noticing the girl was sitting on top of the belts.

History time, Lightnin Loops at Six Flags Great Adventure had a death due to a guest being in front of the restraint.  This caused Six Flags to change to using orange OTSR restraints on Arrow coasters, and is also the reason loops were added to the front of the restraints.

glenwood-caverns-accident-report.pdf

[disco2000]

The report is saying unavailable.

But how do you manually unlock a belt and not notice that the belt is not in front of the person?

It sure does seem like the industry has had a disproportionate amount of deaths/injuries this year compared to prior years.  Maybe not, but she does feel like it.

[DoomPlague]

Speaking of seatbelt checks: Yesterday, on Orion, a woman in the same row as me showed that her seatbelt was completely loose and she could pull it all the way out (while buckled) and even stretch it past her head while the ride was in motion.  Obviously the seatbelt is there as more of a backup precaution but it was surprising.

[Kenban]

9 hours ago, disco2000 said:

The report is saying unavailable.

https://mcusercontent.com/b8edaed9d386fc047dcd5cc35/files/8dd9d8d5-51e1-bd62-238a-34b463c038ff/131_Glenwood_Caverns_HMD_accident_report.pdf

Try this link instead.

8 hours ago, DoomPlague said:

Speaking of seatbelt checks: Yesterday, on Orion, a woman in the same row as me showed that her seatbelt was completely loose and she could pull it all the way out (while buckled) and even stretch it past her head while the ride was in motion.  Obviously the seatbelt is there as more of a backup precaution but it was surprising.

On Orion and many other coasters where the belt is a backup it is an automotive style belt.  The belt locks due to sudden movement.  You can pull it out slowly, but give it a quick tug and it locks.

[DoomPlague]

3 hours ago, Kenban said:

https://mcusercontent.com/b8edaed9d386fc047dcd5cc35/files/8dd9d8d5-51e1-bd62-238a-34b463c038ff/131_Glenwood_Caverns_HMD_accident_report.pdf

Try this link instead.

On Orion and many other coasters where the belt is a backup it is an automotive style belt.  The belt locks due to sudden movement.  You can pull it out slowly, but give it a quick tug and it locks.

That's what I thought but it seemed like it didn't lock at all or retract to the correct position but I didn't get to a good look. Not really a big deal but it makes me wonder.

[purdude86]

On 9/25/2021 at 11:21 PM, disco2000 said:

The report is saying unavailable.

But how do you manually unlock a belt and not notice that the belt is not in front of the person?

It sure does seem like the industry has had a disproportionate amount of deaths/injuries this year compared to prior years.  Maybe not, but she does feel like it.

That's what I was wondering too hearing that. How do you manually check the belts multiple times, along with changing a locking pin, without realizing it's not actually around the person. Not to mention the ride only has 6 seats, so there isn't a lot to check. So it's not like they had to go around 40 seats or something like Drop Tower and were rushing or happened to miss one.

[coaster sally]

What was the child's guardians doing?  

[bjcolglazier]

3 hours ago, coaster sally said:

What was the child's guardians doing?  

What 6-year-old doesn't like a 110-foot free-fall into a dark cave? Said no responsible parent ever. YES, I realize the ride was not operated properly, and this should not have happened. However...

[shark6495]

Yes let’s victim blame…. That always seems productive in this forum….


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[coaster sally]

4 hours ago, shark6495 said:

Yes let’s victim blame…. That always seems productive in this forum….


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Shark if you have children do you make sure they are secure before you are?  Especially a Drop Tower of 100 or so feet?

Most accidents is a multitude of of things that could be prevented.  I wouldn't sleep any better knowing it was the ops fault IMO.

[IndyGuy4KI]

2 minutes ago, coaster sally said:

Shark if you have children do you make sure they are secure before you are?  Especially a Drop Tower of 100 or so feet?

Most accidents is a multitude of of things that could be prevented.  I wouldn't sleep any better knowing it was the ops fault IMO.

I see where you are coming from, for I ask and look to see if my littlest child is good to go, but I know (at a CF park at least) that I can rely on a ride op to verify that my child is in the restraint properly. What if my 6 year old is riding with their brother or sister who are not going to be as cautious as me making sure they are secure. What if they are riding a few cars up or a different cycle? He doesn't always ride with me or my wife. We put our trust in the ride ops to verify our kids are safely in a restraint before they dispatch.

[shark6495]

Shark if you have children do you make sure they are secure before you are?  Especially a Drop Tower of 100 or so feet?
Most accidents is a multitude of of things that could be prevented.  I wouldn't sleep any better knowing it was the ops fault IMO.

I get what your saying as well. But the time to victim blame is never right. The park screwed up royally. I couldn’t sleep if any of my kids were hurt on a ride let alone were killed. Especially if I would replay the “what if I had done another check”.

But the blame is 1000% on the two ride ops. The death is on their hands. They are trained to keep the guests safe and they failed their jobs spectacularly….. it wouldn’t make me feel better but the blame is on the ride ops. They screwed up and should be held responsible just like the park.


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[medford]

I get where Coaster Salley is going.  Its certainly not legally the parents fault, but if it was me, that would be of little solace cause I'd still blame myself.

 

Personally, I've never really thought much about it, I always check my youngest kids seastbelts before doing my own, but that is mostly a function of just helping them get the mechanics down.  My oldest (13) I never check and trust me if it was learned that he was injured or killed because he thought it would be 'cool' to sit on top of the seat belt rather than be secure I'd be besides myself.  Similarly, without knowing the height requirements nor the height of the child, it is entirely possible that the kid was old enough to ride it without an adult, with perhaps an older brother or even by him/herself.  My 5 year old is tall enough to ride The Beast and Mystic Timbers by himself, but I wouldn't let that happen as I'd want to keep an eye on him.  However, I've let my then 9 year old ride The Racer by himself while I watched my then 1 year old in a stroller and my wife and middle daughter rode The scrambler together.  Again, I'd certainly be kicking myself if something had happened to my oldest on those occasions.

 

Blame is 100% on the ride ops, but the feeling of guilt will remain with both the ride ops and the parents for the rest of their lives.

[shark6495]

I get where Coaster Salley is going.  Its certainly not legally the parents fault, but if it was me, that would be of little solace cause I'd still blame myself.
 
Personally, I've never really thought much about it, I always check my youngest kids seastbelts before doing my own, but that is mostly a function of just helping them get the mechanics down.  My oldest (13) I never check and trust me if it was learned that he was injured or killed because he thought it would be 'cool' to sit on top of the seat belt rather than be secure I'd be besides myself.  Similarly, without knowing the height requirements nor the height of the child, it is entirely possible that the kid was old enough to ride it without an adult, with perhaps an older brother or even by him/herself.  My 5 year old is tall enough to ride The Beast and Mystic Timbers by himself, but I wouldn't let that happen as I'd want to keep an eye on him.  However, I've let my then 9 year old ride The Racer by himself while I watched my then 1 year old in a stroller and my wife and middle daughter rode The scrambler together.  Again, I'd certainly be kicking myself if something had happened to my oldest on those occasions.
 
Blame is 100% on the ride ops, but the feeling of guilt will remain with both the ride ops and the parents for the rest of their lives.

I think you’ve said it better than I could ever do.


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