Woman dies on Six Flags Roller Coaster

[SandrA9810]

wow, I'm shocked


the eyewitness reports seemed to be completely fabricated from the start, its very strange

It was some woman looking for her fifteen minutes of fame and now she's plastered all over the national news. I don't know about you, but I'm usually not paying attention to those boarding the train if I'm waiting, which is usually by myself. If I'm with some one, we're usually in our own little world. Plus noise level of the people, the ride itself, and the workers would make it less likely to hear a conversation of someone one or two rows in front.

Several flaws were pointed out in this topic within the first couple of pages of her story. All it took were a few people who visit the park often enough to know that isn't how it works.

Reminds me of the guy who "saved" the three women in Ohio. The first initial report sounded fairly accurate of events. Nothing extravagant or heroic, just what happened. Give or take a few hours and hundreds of reporters wanting him to recount the story, it got a little more frilly around the edges and suddenly he sounded like he was superman, busting down the door and saving them. Amanda Berry saved herself, he just happened to be in the vicinity.

 

[castlecouture2011]

It was some woman looking for her fifteen minutes of fame and now she's plastered all over the national news. I don't know about you, but I'm usually not paying attention to those boarding the train if I'm waiting, which is usually by myself. If I'm with some one, we're usually in our own little world. Plus noise level of the people, the ride itself, and the workers would make it less likely to hear a conversation of someone one or two rows in front.

Several flaws were pointed out in this topic within the first couple of pages of her story. All it took were a few people who visit the park often enough to know that isn't how it works.

Reminds me of the guy who "saved" the three women in Ohio. The first initial report sounded fairly accurate of events. Nothing extravagant or heroic, just what happened. Give or take a few hours and hundreds of reporters wanting him to recount the story, it got a little more frilly around the edges and suddenly he sounded like he was superman, busting down the door and saving them. Amanda Berry saved herself, he just happened to be in the vicinity.

I agree. Having ridding the Giant recently, when I saw this video I was immediately annoyed. I know Six Flags has had their share of incidents, but the things she said were pretty much defamatory, and I ESPECIALLY feel for the ride attendant because chances are, s/he was doing his job correctly, and as long as she looked properly secured and the restraint was locked (both on the "green light" panel and when it was checked) there really isn't much else s/he could have done...and to have an "eyewitness" place blame on them when they weren't even telling the truth...ridiculous and sad. Not to mention there is no way she could have seen the woman fall from her viewpoint if she was boarding the next train or waiting to board the next train.

Very sad all around, and I agree that more emphasis should be put on body shape rather than just height when it comes to coaster restraints, but it is also a sensitive subject for many people. Coaster accidents are so rare though, it's kind of crazy to see people exclaiming, "I will never ride a roller coaster again!" Well good luck driving to work every day...or climbing a ladder...or taking a bath (yes, you are more likely to die from drowning in the bathtub than riding a roller coaster).

 

[bcla]

Very sad all around, and I agree that more emphasis should be put on body shape rather than just height when it comes to coaster restraints, but it is also a sensitive subject for many people. Coaster accidents are so rare though, it's kind of crazy to see people exclaiming, "I will never ride a roller coaster again!" Well good luck driving to work every day...or climbing a ladder...or taking a bath (yes, you are more likely to die from drowning in the bathtub than riding a roller coaster).

Just looking at the photos, and I'm wondering when they redesigned this ride why they didn't purchase cars with over the shoulder restraints. The Wikipedia article on the ride mentions that the original wooden coaster was designed by a company now out of business. The renovation used a steel track designed to be bolted onto a wooden structure. The trains came from a German company. The train manufacturer has made many trains with over the shoulder harnesses. For a ride with a 95° bank and a near vertical drop, are T-bars enough? If they insisted on shoulder harnesses, the manufacturer could have made them to order.

The full image (need to click on it for a really huge photo with lots of detail) shows the T-bar against the riders.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_NEW_Texas_Giant.jpg

The T-bar is padded and contoured. There was another photo of the car with the T-bar unlocked. That wasn't a good angle to see how curved it was. It looks like it was designed to simultaneously press against the legs while at the same time press against the rider's stomach.

The front of the train is somewhat designed in a purposely tacky Texas theme of the front of a large American car with a cattle horns on the hood.

 

[Shutterbug]

Just looking at the photos, and I'm wondering when they redesigned this ride why they didn't purchase cars with over the shoulder restraints. The Wikipedia article on the ride mentions that the original wooden coaster was designed by a company now out of business. The renovation used a steel track designed to be bolted onto a wooden structure. The trains came from a German company. The train manufacturer has made many trains with over the shoulder harnesses. For a ride with a 95° bank and a near vertical drop, are T-bars enough? If they insisted on shoulder harnesses, the manufacturer could have made them to order.

The only time I have seen over the shoulder harness was when a ride goes completely upside down. Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point which has straight down drop does not have over the shoulder drop.

 

[bcla]

The only time I have seen over the shoulder harness was when a ride goes completely upside down. Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point which has straight down drop does not have over the shoulder drop.

A lot of freefall rides have shoulder harnesses, from the original freefall type rides where the car eventually rests horizontally to the exposed ones. There was a fatality at what was then the Drop Zone: Stunt Tower at Paramount's Great America. The park has changed ownership several times and no longer carries any Paramount Pictures branding; they're now owned by Cedar Fair and the ride is now renamed like all the other Cedar Fair drop towers.

Maliboomer at DCA kind of had a little of everything, including a shoulder harness with contoured padding, a crotch rest, and even a vomit shield (scream shield actually, but I prefer thinking that they were vomit shields).

I rode on it once in 2003. I found it rather tame. They sort of dropped and raised it several times in a semi-random fashion. The result was that they hit the brakes after only a short drop and it didn't achieve the velocity of a single long drop. I rather didn't like the ride. It didn't seem to meet a Disney standard for a ride. It was a rather cheap feeling ride like you'd see at a second-rate amusement park.

 

[SandrA9810]

Tower of terror is still only a free fall, and there's only a seat belt. There are many coasters with a lap bar only that DO go upside down. OTSR are not always necessary, most of it depends on the g-force that is created to keep a rider in the seat.

I doubt there are any engineers on here that know the coaster design to explain the ride and train car design. While Six Flags is investigating personally, the coaster company will be as well. If there's a design flaw that they can find here, it might change others that are in use. Their whole company could be on the line, more so than Six Flags.

 

[DebbieB]

Tower of terror is still only a free fall, and there's only a seat belt. There are many coasters with a lap bar only that DO go upside down. OTSR are not always necessary, most of it depends on the g-force that is created to keep a rider in the seat.

I doubt there are any engineers on here that know the coaster design to explain the ride and train car design. While Six Flags is investigating personally, the coaster company will be as well. If there's a design flaw that they can find here, it might change others that are in use. Their whole company could be on the line, more so than Six Flags.

ToT used to have a bar, they changed to a seatbelt. Never heard the official reason why. A bar or seatbelt is all that is needed, you can't be thrown out of the car like on a roller coaster.

 

[Tekneek]

Tower of terror is still only a free fall

Technically, it pulls down faster than gravity, so it isn't a free fall ride.

 

[Tekneek]

The guest really should thank the operators for thinking about their safety but I highly doubt that would be the reaction from most people who are told they are too big to ride safely.

Whether the guest is aware enough to appreciate it, the ride operators have an obligation to all the guests and their employer. They aren't helping anyone by budging on anything related to safety.

 

[TheAviator]

At this point with the false eyewitness claims etc., it would not surprise me if this woman actually affirmatively did something to cause it. Since we are all speculating we just don't know, but I wouldn't rule out the possibility of either a suicide, or heart attack in which case she was unconscious and easier to fall out, I just don't know, just saying there could have been some aggravating circumstances on the woman's part. Since no one else had been injured or no other person fell out of the car, it would be a logical leap.

 

[FireDancer]

Whether the guest is aware enough to appreciate it, the ride operators have an obligation to all the guests and their employer. They aren't helping anyone by budging on anything related to safety.

I agree. I just don't understand people who get upset at people trying to keep them or their children safe. I see threads on here all the time about how a cast member ruined a snowflake's vacation because they wouldn't ignore the minimum height on a ride. I can also see, based on some threads here when WWoHP opened, overweight or oversized people crying discrimination when all the ride operator is trying to do is look out for their safety. Some people are just hateable because of how they react in these situations.

 

[crashbb]

At this point with the false eyewitness claims etc., it would not surprise me if this woman actually affirmatively did something to cause it. Since we are all speculating we just don't know, but I wouldn't rule out the possibility of either a suicide, or heart attack in which case she was unconscious and easier to fall out, I just don't know, just saying there could have been some aggravating circumstances on the woman's part. Since no one else had been injured or no other person fell out of the car, it would be a logical leap.

I must not be reading this correctly. Are you really suggesting that you think it is possible that the victim purposefully had herself ejected from the ride vehicle in order to commit suicide? And, if she had, you wouldn't find that surprising?

While we cannot rule out the possibility that something that she did (or didn't do) contributed to this accident, I'm pretty confident in rejecting suicide.

And the heart attack theory - the restraints should be designed such that they work even if someone faints/has a heart attack/otherwise loses consciousness.

 

[bcla]

I agree. I just don't understand people who get upset at people trying to keep them or their children safe. I see threads on here all the time about how a cast member ruined a snowflake's vacation because they wouldn't ignore the minimum height on a ride. I can also see, based on some threads here when WWoHP opened, overweight or oversized people crying discrimination when all the ride operator is trying to do is look out for their safety. Some people are just hateable because of how they react in these situations.

Disney seems to train their employees better than at most amusement parks. Just a week and a half ago I was in line at Radiator Springs Racers and literally saw a CM working with a girl for about two minutes trying to see if she could barely touch the height marker. However, that's a ride with a simple seat belt, and the 42" height requirement is actually pretty arbitrary. My kid is about 38" and could probably ride it safely.

 

[nile455]

Disney seems to train their employees better than at most amusement parks. Just a week and a half ago I was in line at Radiator Springs Racers and literally saw a CM working with a girl for about two minutes trying to see if she could barely touch the height marker. However, that's a ride with a simple seat belt, and the 42" height requirement is actually pretty arbitrary. My kid is about 38" and could probably ride it safely.

Depends though... The other day I was on Splash Mountain and the CM just told us to pull the lap bar down and he started the ride before the person in front of me even started pulling down the bar. This was surprising to me.

 

[castlecouture2011]

Depends though... The other day I was on Splash Mountain and the CM just told us to pull the lap bar down and he started the ride before the person in front of me even started pulling down the bar. This was surprising to me.

Well Splash didn't have any type of bar until 2011 so I in my opinion it isn't necessary to make sure you don't FALL out, it's there to stop people from CLIMBING out (like the one gentleman who attempted to climb out during the ride and ended up dying).

 

[SandrA9810]

Depends though... The other day I was on Splash Mountain and the CM just told us to pull the lap bar down and he started the ride before the person in front of me even started pulling down the bar. This was surprising to me.

The lap bar isn't for the safety over the falls, it's to keep stupid people from standing up and trying to reach out to the animatronics or play in the water. They're relatively new to the ride, and I think more people rode it prior to the lap bars than since they've been installed. There also isn't a mechanism to stop the ride from continuing without the lap bar engaged. Now coasters do have this feature, Thunder, Space, Everest, RnR, Barnstormer, and I could be forgetting one. But the same goes for the coasters at other parks. In the off season, they have to engage every seat even with no rider in it before the train can leave the station.

Disney seems to train their employees better than at most amusement parks. *Just a week and a half ago I was in line at Radiator Springs Racers and literally saw a CM working with a girl for about two minutes trying to see if she could barely touch the height marker. *However, that's a ride with a simple seat belt, and the 42" height requirement is actually pretty arbitrary. *My kid is about 38" and could probably ride it safely.

Height restrictions also take many other things into consideration, such as the body's ability to handle the ride. They do testing at various heights with crash dummies to see which one can handle it. This is going off a vague memory of a tv show about coasters/amusement park ride building. There is a ton of research gone into this stuff long before the ground breaks on building it.
https://disneyland.disney.go.com/attractions/disney-california-adventure/radiator-springs-racers/
According to Disney it's on a 40" height requirement. Sometimes we also forget what it's like being short, it could be that the child isn't tall enough to see out the window. When that happens, parents can take it upon themselves to "fix" it or do other unsafe things to endanger the child. Test Track at Epcot is the same ride, and features the same height requirement.


If you want your short child to ride coasters, then wait till s/he is tall enough without shoes on before planning your vacation. Ohh and give or take an inch on some of those height bars, they're not perfect.

 

[nile455]

Well Splash didn't have any type of bar until 2011 so I in my opinion it isn't necessary to make sure you don't FALL out, it's there to stop people from CLIMBING out (like the one gentleman who attempted to climb out during the ride and ended up dying).

It's still not very Disney like. If there's a bar, it should be lowered. Not everyone who goes to Disney is aware that they don't really "need" the lap bar, so I would imagine it could be slightly unsettling for the ride to start and your lap bar hasn't been lowered and no one came to check. Especially after you've walked by that big drop.

 

[SandrA9810]

It's still not very Disney like. If there's a bar, it should be lowered. Not everyone who goes to Disney is aware that they don't really "need" the lap bar, so I would imagine it could be slightly unsettling for the ride to start and your lap bar hasn't been lowered and no one came to check. Especially after you've walked by that big drop.

I've never been on a log flume that did have a lap bar. It's not very common, from big parks like Disney to little county fairs that are in operation for a couple of weeks a year.

 

[bcla]

Tower of terror is still only a free fall, and there's only a seat belt. There are many coasters with a lap bar only that DO go upside down. OTSR are not always necessary, most of it depends on the g-force that is created to keep a rider in the seat.

I doubt there are any engineers on here that know the coaster design to explain the ride and train car design. While Six Flags is investigating personally, the coaster company will be as well. If there's a design flaw that they can find here, it might change others that are in use. Their whole company could be on the line, more so than Six Flags.

Some looping coasters have been stuck with some of the riders in an inverted position. A seat belt (with rider lock out like most Disney rides) might work but it would probably cause bruising if they took hours to extricate.

Here's a video of a guy who somehow managed to ride on ToT without the seat belt. He lifted out of the seat about six inches. I suppose theoretically he could have been bumped out of the window somehow. I wouldn't be surprised if he received some bruising after slamming into the seat.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsUWLqB68No

 

[nile455]

I've never been on a log flume that did have a lap bar. It's not very common, from big parks like Disney to little county fairs that are in operation for a couple of weeks a year.

I know but that's not the point. If a new WDW guest gets seated in a ride that has a lap bar, they're probably going to want that lap bar used. And it's just not professional or Disney like when the operator starts the ride and as your vehicle leaves the loading station he says to pull the lap bar down. Just mho.