Girl dies after being thrown from Royal Show ride

[Slick]

So this just happened:

https://au.news.yahoo.com/sa/a/24975915/teen-critical-after-being-flung-from-ride-at-royal-adelaide-show/?cmp=fb

Apparently she was flung from the airmax 360 ride. Not a lot of details yet as why it happened specifically.

[Flea]

Video of the ride:

Would have to come down to being under the height restriction. How horrible.

[Louis.sayer3]

Couldn't have we seen this coming though, some attraction operators and or staff have little enthusiasm or an general safety idea. Most just want you on and off as quick as possible just to get their money and be on with it. I'm not one for carnival rides as per say the whole pack it up in a truck in a day and lets move on really disturbs me. And i'd rather a ride that is firmly cemented and held in the ground with proper safety inspections/repairs i.e. Theme park rides. Is that relatable to other people or am i just really naive......

[westical]

I went on this last month. I've escaped death.

[Brad2912]

What an absolute tragedy.

Have always had an issue with going on carnival/fair rides to the point I just won't do it now, nor will I allow my son to when he is of age. Think it came back to a ride on the Sizzler when I was about 12 when halfway through the ride I realised I could lift the lap bar, which wasn't locked in place. I just don't trust a ride being continually constructed/dismantled.

[Reanimated35]

Wasn't it Adelaide with the top spin too?

[bladex]

those damn carny rides this is why i dont go to the ekka anymore. most of the time their run by incompetent teens or worse!

Edited September 12, 2014 by bladex

[BigKev]

With two daughters around that age this just makes me sick in the guts.

Just not right.

[AllegroCrab]

I think people (especially those operating rides) should be made more aware of why rides have safety restrictions. Height isn't an indicator of how mature they are in order for them to ride something.

The reason we have height restrictions is all to do with whether the rider is safely secured by the restraint.

We couldn't give a rat's arse whether young Timmy is mature enough to ride the roller-coaster. If he can fit, and is secured by the harness, then he is allowed to ride. Whereas old man Jones has been to war, he has seen things no man should ever have seen, and he isn't afraid of anything. But he can't ride the roller coaster because he is short and can't be safely secured by the restraint.

Most of us on here would be able to tell whether any danger apparent on a ride is manufactured danger or real danger. Kinda like a pilot being able to tell, when flying as a passenger, whether a seemingly precarious situation to the inexperienced is normal or abnormal.

We know why these restrictions are in place, and hearing of preventable accidents like this, especially so close to home, is disconcerting.

[Spotty]

For anyone who is stating that these rides are unsafe etc, take a moment to think about this... You are in MUCH more danger of being in an accident on the way to a carnival or show than you are on any of the rides. Whilst the exact cause is unknown, it's likely a FREAK accident.

Yes it's unfortunate that this has happened, but i'd honestly trust my life and any of my friends lives on these attractions. Do you honestly think the owners of these rides spend over a million dollars importing these world class attractions and are going to risk their livelihood along with their families (and any other people riding these attractions) by not maintaining them.

These rides are subject to some of the most in depth testing and inspections in the world before being signed off to operate at any of the shows in Australia. I have 100% faith in each of these rides, and the operators of them that if something WAS found to be wrong at these inspections that they would refuse to operate the ride until the proper fixes have been implemented. Yes they would lose money but it's not worth the risk to put it simply.

having worked in the amusement industry and carnival industry for many years myself I can promise you that the staff at theme parks and carnivals take height restrictions VERY seriously no matter what. However if it's a really busy period of time, sadly if people are in a big group a person can slip through the cracks. These attractions are as safe, if not safer than our attractions at the theme parks. When you think about it, these rides are dismantled almost on a weekly basis so components are checked more frequently than the theme park versions. The staff operating them know the ride inside and out and not just from an operational standpoint.

It is a tragic accident either way, and it's best not to speculate on what has caused the incident out of respect for the families and the staff / owners of the AirMaxx 360.

My thoughts and prayers do go out to the family and friends of the young girl involved, and to the operators and the owner of this ride who I am sure are as hurt and devastated that this accident happened especially considering the ride is just over a year old.

[Brad2912]

I'm not saying that are technically more unsafe, I just think the speed at which they are constructed and the frequency means that things could/may be rushed at times, shortcuts taken. I don't have any solid stats to back me up, but I'd certainly disagree that they are safer or as safe as their theme park counterparts, who generally have the manufacturer or representative of the manufacturer check over the ride prior to opening, which certainly doesn't happen every week for carnival rides when moved. Maybe it's the fact I can recall at least 5 deaths/serious injures in the past 5 or so years on carnival rides, vs zero deaths/serious injuries at the GC theme parks that makes me believe this. You are right, I am certainly more likely to be killed/maimed in my car each day, but I have to drive my car, And I don't have to ride a carnival rides when I can just go to Dreamworld for a better, safer selection?

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

The speed of construction has nothing to do with it. These guys set these things up over and over again. They know exactly what goes where, and in what order. The ride is BUILT to be put up and down in a short period of time.

From memory - Taipan takes several days to be put together, but many of the smaller trailer mounted rides can be done in a day. Travelling versions are made to go together with pins and bolts held together with splitpins and lock pins. Most park rides are bolted together.

That doesn't make them LESS safe. These guys eyeball every structural weakness week in, week out. I guarantee the parks don't get that up close and personal with the rides on such a regular basis.

The article states that the girl's harness was still in a locked position, and whilst I don't want to encourage any speculation - the likelihood is she was too small for the harness (this isn't necessarily a 'height' thing - young girls can be tall enough to ride, but still skinny and flexible enough that certain ride motions can lead to them coming out of the harness)... as stated above, most likely a freak accident and nothing more.

[aussienetman]

Yea. I never ride carny rides. My opinion is they are unsafe with unreliable operators. Hope this girls family can find some peace.

[Reanimated35]

I'm slightly concerned with the way the coasters look. As in they just look cheap compared to welded/bolted permanent fixtures, but I'm also amazed that they can be build off the back of a truck like that.

In saying that if anything did happen to me, at least I'd go out doing something I enjoy.

[Tim Dasco]

Did anyone actually read the article posted above.

"We've gone for years without problems," he told reporters.

"It's a rare occurrence. This is a tragedy and we have no idea what's caused it.

Well i can think of this one and the top spin incident and thats all the travelling rides i can think of. Well lets compare.

[Brad2912]

Theme park rides don't have to be eyeballed every day or week for structural weakness, because they are cemented/bolted/welded into a fixed position. The fact that carnival rides need to be eyeballed daily/weekly in itself is in response to the fact that due to the nature of their construction, there are more problems or issues that could arise with them, hence making them less safe.

[joz]

Except, and I don't quite know how to put this, but that's not what happened here is it? Structurally, the ride in this instance was fine. Also since there are probably waaay more rides given every year by traveling rides, statistically you'd expect there to be more accidents. I think what is true though is that you're more likely to get 'cowboys' in the traveling ride circuit. It's not predictable available work, so getting a large number of good reliable staff is an issue.

None of which may be a factor in this tragic event of course, just food for thought,

[bladex]

^ agree there was a traveling carnival that set up near where i used to live when i was in high school. i found out that the rides were being run by the kids from the special needs class at my damn school that's who they hired to be in charge of them! i'm not kidding. most of the people in charge of these rides are known as the term carnies i believe this video proves my point LOL.

Edited September 13, 2014 by bladex

[Brad2912]

^ agree there was a traveling carnival that set up near where i used to live when i was in high school. i found out that the rides were being run by the kids from the special needs class at my damn school that's who they hired to be in charge of them! i'm not kidding. most of the people in charge of these rides are known as the term carnies i believe this video proves my point LOL.

Think everyone knows what a carnie is... It's called stereotyping.

[JacobSibbald]

A witness said that it didn't happen instantly, rather she was hanging by her legs for a short period of time before she fell. What was stopping an emergency stop?

[bladex]

than she was obviously too short to ride it was the operator blind?!

[westical]

A witness said that it didn't happen instantly, rather she was hanging by her legs for a short period of time before she fell. What was stopping an emergency stop?

Define short period of time. A ride won't come to a stop within a second.

[JacobSibbald]

"She was hanging by her legs off the ride, trying to block herself. She went flying through the air about 10-15 metres up in the air and I started sprinting towards her," she told News Corp Australia.

If you have time to gauge she was hanging trying to block herself, I assume it would be at least 5-10 seconds?

A ride won't come to a stop within a second.

It will begin to slow down, even if she fell when the ride was at a reduced speed she may have been able to survive.

Just a thought.

[boabcoyle]

I was a theme park ride technician for 10 years and have found these type of rides are generally a very poor quality build I have often question the mechanical integrity of the rides & lap bar locking systems. In many cases the manufactures are contracting componentry to china and is of very poor quality and standard which keeps the purchase price lower and would suggest seat belts should be fitted to every ride in australia regardless of standard and quality of build. The seat belts can be retro fitted and engineered into the ride at a price , but what price do we put on a human life for the sake of a seat belt that may have prevented a death. I have found with lap bar locking systems there are usually 2 or more devices that lock to ensure in some saftey factors, I have also seen both of these fail but not at one time,again cheaply made rubbish I dont trust them. I have also had experience with the government agencies they send people out to inspect rides with little experience the whole industry needs a complete overhaul. Although dreamworld and warners I have no issues with as they do maintain high saftey standards as I have had back of house maintenance tours.

[Spotty]

Airmaxx 360 has seat belts just an FYI. Also as far as build quality goes you state that you are a theme park ride technician. Have you actually ever worked on a travelling ride and looked in depth at them? As far as the build itself goes as others have stated they are designed differently to allow for portability. Most of the rides that we have in Australia are not a cheap chinese knock off like other countries have but rides built in Germany, Holland, Netherlands and Italy (AirMaxx 360 is a BN Performance Rides Smashing Jump) so honestly unless you have experience in maintaining and operating CARNIVAL rides your post lacks credibility.

Also, any carnival attractions that are high speed and height (like Airmaxx 360) require a main locking mechanism (such as the shoulder restraint) and a secondary locking mechanism like a seatbelt. Hell even rides like the Hurricane and Scrambler now have secondary locking mechanisms now. This is not an option by the operators but a legal requirement to be allowed to run on Australian shows / theme parks. And by calling them "cheap rubbish" why don't you go out and spend $1.5 million on a ride so that I can call it cheap rubbish?

The government agency that is in charge of inspecting these rides before a show is very strict as well and runs over everything with a fine tooth comb especially after the Spin Dragon accident several years ago.