When most think of roller coasters and fair rides, they remember days filled with fun at amusement parks or county fairs. However, the dangers of ride malfunctions are frequently ignored until a dramatic accident occurs.
On March 24, 14-year-old Tyre Sampson fell to his death from Icon Park’s Free Fall ride in Orlando, Fl. Free fall is taller than the Statue of Liberty at 430 feet; its website states that it is the world’s tallest free-standing drop tower. As suggested by the name, the ride consists of a climb-up a tower followed by a sudden drop. At some points in the fall, Free Fall goes up to 75 mph.
A witness told the 911 dispatcher that Sampson slipped out of his ride as it braked at the bottom of the drop. After further investigations, it was deemed that Sampson’s safety harness was not pulled down all the way due to his size.
Roller coasters, however, are not the only entertainment equipment that can cause harm. County fairs are filled with machines that commonly pose threats.
In July of 2021, a seemingly fun outing turned into a terrifying experience at the National Cherry Festival in Traverse City, Mich. The Magic Carpet ride held passengers in a compartment which swung back and forth in a pendulum-like motion. Unfortunately, the swinging went out of control and the entire ride started swaying to the point where the base also lifted off the ground.
Bystanders quickly rushed to grab the rails of the magic ride. Eventually, enough people put their weight into the rails that the base stabilized itself. Though no one was hurt, this incident was still petrifying for riders.
A video of this terrifying accident was taken, and it went viral. Had the video not gone viral, this malfunction would have gone unnoticed by the public. In the case of free fall, the flaw was only picked up by national news since someone passed away as a result. This begs the question: How many malfunctions go unnoticed when everyone remains alive?
Take the Gatekeeper for example. Located in Sandusky, Ohio, this roller coaster is a part of Cedar Point, one of the most famous amusement parks in the nation. In June of 2021, the Gatekeeper, a roller coaster which boasts a high speed of 67 mph and a maximum height of 170 feet, stopped on the track as it was going up a hill. It was later determined that this was caused due to a separation in the lift. It would be expected that a mistake made here would be highly publicized. However, only a few local news sources reported on the accident.
The lack of reporting can be extremely dangerous. Junior Kayla Ruge is an avid roller coaster rider and loves to visit amusement parks with her friends and family. She likes to know what may go wrong when going on a ride. “The possible dangers would limit what [rides] I will go on. The fear of what could happen is intimidating,” she said.
Ruge also believes that riders should know the history of rides. “It is not okay because a malfunction could cause serious injuries and people should be able to decide if they want to take that risk or not,” she said. “That information should not be held from them because they need it to determine whether they believe the ride is safe for them.”
Junior Ellen Pendrak likes when warnings are presented and believes they should continue to be placed.“High speed roller coasters always have warnings about how people with injuries or things like pacemakers should not ride in order to insure their safety, and failing to inform them of those dangers to their safety is reckless,” she said.
Though mostly fun, roller coasters, fair rides and other entertainment machines can become dangerous. Unfortunately, many of these incidents go unnoticed as no significant damage has been done. Regardless of what harm an accident causes, warnings of the history of a ride could give riders more information on the potential hazards.
Ally Lindauer • Apr 8, 2022 at 10:34 am
This post is super interesting! I’ve heard about a few amusement park incidents, but I’ve always loved roller coasters. This will make me think twice before getting on rides at amusement parks!