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Horrific accident at Louisville amusement park

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by Freelance Hack, Jun 21, 2007.

  1. playthrough

    playthrough Moderator Staff Member

    By the time the lawsuits are done that family will own Kentucky Kingdom, what zero consolation that is.
     
  2. terrier

    terrier Well-Known Member

    As someone who once worked in an aumsement park, please don't get me going on this subject. I witnessed things that summer in the pre-Internet era that would get people arrested, tarred and feathered today.
     
  3. Sxysprtswrtr

    Sxysprtswrtr Active Member

    You know how some people don't want to die by heart attack, or car accident, or in a fire?

    My worst fear? Being stuck upside down, suspended 150 feet in the air and the harnesses popping open and falling to my death.

    Thing is - I LOVE roller coasters, and especially love the small-town fair rides (scary, I know).
     
  4. A seamless parallel to the Kentucky tragedy. Thanks, tbf.

    ALSO: I thought the reference to your balls was a classy touch.
     
  5. three_bags_full

    three_bags_full Well-Known Member

    I guess you didn't read the rest of the posts on this thread about people being stuck upside down on rides. ::)

    And, if it makes you feel better, I'm sorry the little girl lost her feet. Yes, it was a terrible accident. What else would you like me to do?
     
  6. doubledown68

    doubledown68 Active Member

    I've ridden a tower ride in KC that shoots you straight up several times... though it uses pneumatics or compressed air or something.

    Anyway, I feel sorry for the girl. But until something like this happens to me, I'll always love roller coasters.
     
  7. Batman

    Batman Well-Known Member

    I worked at Six Flags for a few summers as a teen, and spent one of them working on a rollercoaster. Getting stuck upside down (called "saddling") is VERY rare since most coasters basically run on gravity once they leave the chain lift. And, on longer coasters or coasters that it might be a problem, there's usually a second lift somewhere on the ride. Typically, the 1,000 or 2,000 extra pounds from a full train are enough to carry it through.
    It can happen if the weight is distributed just the right way, or if no one is on the train. The maintenance guys used sandbags to add weight on the morning test runs of one of the older coasters. Getting stuck in a loop is almost unheard of, though. Most loops are basically pendulums, so it'd be like balancing a dime on top of a baseball. I think the one that got stuck recently was in a heartline spin -- more of a horizontal part of track instead of a traditional loop.

    Been a while since I got to show off my roller coaster geekery :)
     
  8. boots

    boots New Member

    Surviving Ft. Benning is an accomplishment in itself.
     
  9. markvid

    markvid Guest

    One story said her feet went with her to the hospital, and given UL's reputation as a medical facility, maybe this one turns out more positive than we think?
     
  10. Big Buckin' agate_monkey

    Big Buckin' agate_monkey Active Member

    I haven't seen any tears shed.
     
  11. DanOregon

    DanOregon Well-Known Member

    Has anybody been on this ride - it looks like one of those rides that just takes you and drops you down, similar to Disney's Haunted Hotel. I'm just trying to figure out how a cord got loose and wrapped around the girl's legs.

    and anybody else been getting a pop-up with a benning.mil address?
     
  12. novelist_wannabe

    novelist_wannabe Well-Known Member

    I don't remember which park it was, but didn't that just happen a week or so ago, where one string of coaster cars were stuck and the riders were just kind of haning there?
     
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