Sunday, April 13, 2008

another roller coaster accident!

WOW! These kinds of things are so easy to find.
It's like looking for a leaf on a tree in the middle of summer.
They are everywhere!
A maintenance supervisor for a Kentucky amusement park said workers did not follow several of the ride manufacturer's instructions for handling a cable that snapped and severed a teenager's feet last summer.
John Schmidt, the ride-maintenance manager at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom since 1999, said in a deposition in November that technicians for the theme park never performed a hands-on inspection before the accident of any of the 10 cables on the Superman Tower of Power ride.
Schmidt, 56, also said that park technicians did not lubricate the cables monthly, and that they applied corn starch to reduce "cable slippage" from over-lubrication that they believed was coming from the ride's machinery.
Cables on the ride snapped June 21, injuring 14-year-old Kaitlyn Lasitter. Doctors reattached the girl's right foot, but her left leg had to be partially amputated.
The girl and her family are suing the park, claiming it failed to maintain the ride and equipment and ensure riders' safety. In court filings, the amusement park has denied liability in the accident.
Schmidt's deposition was taken as part of the lawsuit.
The Kentucky Department of Agriculture, which inspects amusement park rides, is awaiting tests on a cable from the ride to determine what caused it to snap.
Schmidt's deposition and the ride-maintenance manual were among records provided to The Courier-Journal by Kaitlyn's parents, Randy and Monique Lasitter. The records have not been added to the public court file.
Kentucky Kingdom spokeswoman Carolyn McLean said in an e-mailed statement that she could not answer questions because of the investigation.
Other accidents at amusement parks!
A 44-year-old man died in December after riding Disney World's Expedition Everest roller coaster in Orlando, Fla. Inspectors found the ride, which first opened in 2006 and includes an 80-foot drop, was functioning properly. The death was blamed on the man's heart condition.
Firefighters rescue a boy from a Ferris wheel car at a carnival near Seoul, South Korea, on Aug. 13. Two cars overturned, sending five family members to their deaths.
People at the Lifest 2007 Christian festival in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, pause July 15 in front of the Air Glory ride. The ride was shut down after a 16-year-old girl plunged 45 feet from it the day before. She later died.
A 4-year-old boy drowned July 12 in a 355,000-gallon wave pool at the Paramount Great America amusement park in Santa Clara, California.
Passengers were left hanging for 30 minutes on the X-Coaster at an amusement park in Hot Springs, Arkansas, June 9 after the park suffered a power outage.
In May 2007, a woman died and several others were injured when a roller coaster car in Osaka, Japan, derailed and crashed into a guardrail. Investigators checked to roller coaster after the accident.
Also that month, a faulty exit platform injured five visitors and an employee at the Kali River Rapids ride in Disney World.
Daudi Bamuwamye died in 2005 at the age of 4 after riding Mission: Space at the Disney park in Orlando. He had an undiagnosed heart condition.
This makes it okay for people like me who do not particularly like roller coasters.
Because you never know what will happen.
And they make me sick.

No comments: