DEATH ON FREEFALL AT ICON PARK

[MichelinMan]

Oh this is bad....

"Two seats on an Orlando, Florida, amusement park ride, including that of a 14-year-old boy who fell to his death from the ride last month, had been manually adjusted, a forensic engineering firm hired to investigate the incident found.
Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services Nikki Fried and State Rep. Geraldine Thompson, D-Orlando, presented the firm's findings during a news update Monday.
The operator of the FreeFall drop tower made manual adjustments to two seats on the ride "presumably, to allow for larger riders, which should not have happened based on the manufacturer's guidelines," said Thompson.

"All protocols, procedures and safety measures provided to us by the manufacturer of the ride were followed. Today's report suggests a full review of the ride's design, safety, operation, restraint mechanisms and history -- which of course we welcome," Trevor Arnold, an attorney for the ride's operator, Orlando Slingshot, said in a statement.

"Seat 1's harness proximity sensor was manually loosened, adjusted and tightened to allow a restraint opening of near 7 inches," about 4 inches more than the normal opening range for the restraints, according to the report produced by Quest Engineering & Failure Analysis, Inc.

The opening on the restraint may have grown to as much as 10 inches with force, according to the report.

The FreeFall drop tower manufacturer's guideline puts a rider's weight limit at 250 pounds, Thomson said; Tyre Sampson weighed approximately 340 pounds, his family told CNN.

The FreeFall takes riders to the top of a 430-foot tower, tilts them face to the ground, and falls at speeds of up to 75 mph, the ICON Park's website says. Operators call it the world's tallest free-standing drop tower, the sheriff's office said.
The ride passed a safety inspection in December before it was allowed to open, according to a safety inspection report obtained by CNN.
The document from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services noted the drop tower passed inspection on December 20, 2021. No deficiencies were listed in the report.
The report did not indicate who adjusted the ride, but found the adjustments were made after the harness sensors of the ride "were initially secured in place."
Fried said now that they know what mechanically took place, they will next seek to find out how and why, before they assess what penalties may come.
The operator's attorney said Orlando Slingshot has "fully cooperated with the State during the initial phase of its investigation, and we will continue to do so until it has officially concluded.
The ride has been closed since Sampson's death, and it will remain closed "indefinitely," Fried said Monday.
ICON Park, where the drop tower ride is located, said it is "deeply troubled" by the report.
"We are deeply troubled that the preliminary findings of the State's investigation indicate a sensor on the Orlando FreeFall attraction, which is owned and operated by the SlingShot Group, had been mis-adjusted after the sensor was originally secured in place," the park said in a statement.
"ICON Park is committed to providing a safe, fun experience for families. We will continue to support the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services with their ongoing investigation," the statement read."


https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/18/us/florida-park-ride-teen-death-seat-investigation/index.html

Wow. That is gross negligence of the worst kind. Absolutely mind blowing.

 

[Timbud2]

Wow. That is gross negligence of the worst kind. Absolutely mind blowing.

If they only altered the sensors on two seats were the workers trained to let bigger people in those seats? This is horrifying.

 

[BrianL]

That's unbelieveable that they would make an adjustment like that against manufacturer specifications - complete negligence! I had wondered how that design passed safety checks, but if it was tampered with that changes everything. The operators of this ride should face serious liability - perhaps criminal charges. How could anyone even think that this wasn't a recipe for disaster?

 

[DLgal]

If they only altered the sensors on two seats were the workers trained to let bigger people in those seats? This is horrifying.

Probably. The kid was encouraged by employees to come over and ride that ride after being turned away at the park's other two attractions. They told him "we'll get you on this ride."

So yeah, seems everyone knew about those two modified seats. Whether they knew the OPERATORS had modified the seats or whether they were just told those were special seats for larger riders remains to be determined.

 

[Starport Seven-Five]

I'm sure they knew. I'm sure they never measured the gap. Why would they?

Maybe, maybe not. It would take a lot of trial and error to figure out that certain seats allow bigger riders. If they were instead told by someone that those 2 seats were for bigger riders though it shows intent behind the modification.

I'm more familiar with roller coasters but I'd assume this ride is similar with daily safety checks before opening. Measuring max gap to get a green light should be part of those checks if it is safety critical.

 

[dreamer17555]

I was looking at how the adjustment was made to the seats and can I say I’m a little terrified that it was that small of an adjustment needed to be made or that easy of an adjustment needed to be made for it to become unsafe? It should never be as simple as moving a single bolt a few centimeters. That adjustment should’ve been much harder to do.

 

[DLgal]

Maybe, maybe not. It would take a lot of trial and error to figure out that certain seats allow bigger riders. If they were instead told by someone that those 2 seats were for bigger riders though it shows intent behind the modification.

I'm more familiar with roller coasters but I'd assume this ride is similar with daily safety checks before opening. Measuring max gap to get a green light should be part of those checks if it is safety critical.

If the daily safety checks were being done by the same department that made the adjustments, then what?

 

[fatmanatee]

If they only altered the sensors on two seats were the workers trained to let bigger people in those seats? This is horrifying.

They probably were and they wouldn't know any better. All you would have to tell them was that the two seats were for bigger riders, without mentioning that they had been altered.

 

[BrianL]

They probably were and they wouldn't know any better. All you would have to tell them was that the two seats were for bigger riders, without mentioning that they had been altered.

Yeah, the kids who run the ride would have no way of knowing that these seats weren't within the proper specifications. Many rides do have seats intended for larger riders that were either built in to the design or added by the actual ride engineers. If they were told that larger riders can be loaded into certain seats, they wouldn't necessarily know it was unsafe.

 

[tiana1989]

The even scarier question might be WHEN this adjustment took place. I highly doubt the operators working that night did it when they saw a bigger kid coming to ride. Like others have suggested, they were probably told to put larger guests in their specific seats. How many people sat in those adjusted seats and were unknowingly in this incredibly dangerous situation? The full two months the ride was open?? After someone realized they were losing money turning people away and decided to do something about it?? Absolutely disgusting and horrible.

 

[Disney Bobby]

Incredibly sad. Can't imagine what that kid went through.

I'm almost 6'7", and in my peak weightlifting days, I was about 285lbs. I'm still close to 260lbs. I learned years ago to pay attention to weight limits on ladders and step stools. I remember looking at weight limits on rides at other parks, but I've never looked for them at Disney. Not sure I remember ever seeing any limits listed. Rides are tight sometimes, mostly due to my height, but I've never felt unsafe.

I'll be checking for sure now, no matter what park I'm in. Going to Carowinds and Dollywood for sure this summer. If I'm close, it's a no go. I could probably cut back on some carbs too. lol.

 

[New Mouse]

To be fair to the operator, they are not denying the adjustment occurred. Their stance is that they modified it within limitations stated by the manufacturer.

They haven't been shy about stating their case in public and seemingly offering all the assistance they can with the investigation.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

we will have to see what they were trained to do, who made the adjustments and what the manufacturer recommended, but by any stretch of the imagination manually reconfiguring the safety restraint for larger riders is negligent. It's just a matter of the degree of negligence applicable to each party. In a civil suit (assuming there won't be criminal charges) the aggrieved party will get nothing out of the immediate ride operators other than the satisfaction of seeing them cited, so they'll want to go after the larger fish (manufacturer, designer, the park itself)

 

[Timbud2]

To be fair to the operator, they are not denying the adjustment occurred. Their stance is that they modified it within limitations stated by the manufacturer.

They haven't been shy about stating their case in public and seemingly offering all the assistance they can with the investigation.

True. Some blame belongs to the ride manufacturer. You shouldn’t be able to make a mis-adjustment and still have the safety light go on.

 

[Turn the Page]

I do not like big rides like this. The older I get the more motion sickness I get and I do not find being dizzy and nauseous to be fun.

I have never actually been afraid of something like this happening, I just don't like them.

That said, nobody ever died on It's a Small World. You will find me in Fantasyland thank you very much.

Obviously this is a horrible tragedy and I imagine some charges will be brought against someone. But am I the only one who also feels really bad for the teenager operating the ride? They are going to live with this immense burden for the rest of their life and that is also tragic.

 

[Groot]

I won’t be surprised if Disney started to post weight limits and/or seat dimensions (seat width and seat depth) on their more thrilling rides.

 

[fatmanatee]

I won’t be surprised if Disney started to post weight limits and/or seat dimensions (seat width and seat depth) on their more thrilling rides.

WDW doesn't have any weight restrictions for their rides. We'll see if that changes with Guardians or Tron but I'm guessing not and that's fine, they haven't had an issue like this (also: I would guess they design rides with the intention that as many people as possible can experience it). We're talking about an attraction that had a posted limit for good reason and that restriction was ignored and the ride was manipulated so someone who wasn't allowed to ride could get on. I don't think there's a lesson here for Disney or Uni, who are both more careful about all aspects of attraction design and execution.

 

[New Mouse]

True. Some blame belongs to the ride manufacturer. You shouldn’t be able to make a mis-adjustment and still have the safety light go on.

A bigger question....if a safety restraint isn't meant to be manipulated, why can it easily be manipulated?

At least half the blame here falls on the design team.

 

[New Mouse]

WDW doesn't have any weight restrictions for their rides. We'll see if that changes with Guardians or Tron but I'm guessing not and that's fine, they haven't had an issue like this (also: I would guess they design rides with the intention that as many people as possible can experience it). We're talking about an attraction that had a posted limit for good reason and that restriction was ignored and the ride was manipulated so someone who wasn't allowed to ride could get on. I don't think there's a lesson here for Disney or Uni, who are both more careful about all aspects of attraction design and execution.

You realize Disney and Univeral outsource these ride designs to manufacturers for the most part, right? A drop tower is a drop tower which can be built or skinned by a variety of manufacturers, but at the end of the day Disney isn't building coasters or drop towers in house, they use companies just like this but possibly a different caliber or experience level.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Maybe, maybe not. It would take a lot of trial and error to figure out that certain seats allow bigger riders. If they were instead told by someone that those 2 seats were for bigger riders though it shows intent behind the modification.

I'm more familiar with roller coasters but I'd assume this ride is similar with daily safety checks before opening. Measuring max gap to get a green light should be part of those checks if it is safety critical.

A daily safety check would not have determined this was an issue unless those same people who did the safety checks were notified that the gap should not be wider. A daily safety check also would not have to do with weight of guests as they are allowed on the ride. What I do agree with is a person who mentioned the sensor should not be able to be satisfied electronically with a gap that is outside the manufacturers design. In this case that's what happened (and why this ride could continue to operate without issues) so a daily safety check would have still given a green light and it would not have shown an issue.