Speculation and media beat ups - Thunder River Rapids incident

[Brad2912]

I understand your stance reanimated, to each their own when it comes to safety

personally, whilst I've jumped back on GL (I gave it a few months of safe operation before i did), I don't think I could bring myself to ride TRR again IF it did re-open. Not knowing 4 people had perished in that same location. Maybe that's the shock speaking and it may soften over time, but given I've been putting my 4 year old on that ride since he turned 2, I can't shake the dread I feel just thinking about it. (My partner has already banned me from putting him on rides for the foreseeable future after today - again, everyone has a right to choose their reactions) 

Edited October 25, 2016 by Brad2912

[www worker 2.0]

At this point pending further investigations the ride will reopen at some point down the track, but that decision could be changed at any moment.

Edited October 25, 2016 by www worker 2.0
spelling

[elemist]

Maybe it's just being so far removed from the situation on the other side of the country, but pending the investigations i would probably go on it again. The fact it's operated safely for so long, means this is most likely just a tragic set of events that came together.

Assuming a thorough investigation is completed and steps put in place to prevent it happening again, then it should be fine.

You could compare it to air travel. Freak accidents occur due to a certain set of circumstances, the accident is investigated thoroughly and a set of recommendations are produced to prevent it from re-occuring again.

[JeffreyMoore]

If it does reopen sometime in the future its popularity and ride numbers are never going to be the same i feel

[jake_hunt]

@JeffreyMoore I remember 45 minute queues for it in my glory days. It and the Log Ride were the two necessities when I was a kid. I can't see people being that keen for it ever again unfortunately

[elemist]

Just now, JeffreyMoore said:

If it does reopen sometime in the future its popularity and ride numbers are never going to be the same i feel

Maybe not in the near future whilst it's so public, but once the media circus dies down a bit it will just be another ride. A new generation of young kids with no knowledge or emotional tie to the incident will just think it's another ride. After a few years of safe operation i would say most people would be fine on it.

[Jamberoo Fan]

17 minutes ago, jake_hunt said:

By the way, now they're blaming the velcro straps.

That one is not the media saying it. I read that article a while ago - it is a concerned father who is saying that & he is not blaming the velcro straps. He was just pointing out that he feels the velcro straps are ineffective when they become wet & that he thinks the velcro straps don't secure infants in their seat well enough.

Edited October 25, 2016 by Jamberoo Fan

[elemist]

From the Reddit thread -  http://imgur.com/a/fWQBY

[JeffreyMoore]

Just now, elemist said:

Maybe not in the near future whilst it's so public, but once the media circus dies down a bit it will just be another ride. A new generation of young kids with no knowledge or emotional tie to the incident will just think it's another ride. After a few years of safe operation i would say most people would be fine on it.

Yes thats true but those of us who know just what happened are going to be very uneasy towords the ride for a while to come im sure

[AllegroCrab]

6 minutes ago, elemist said:

You could compare it to air travel. Freak accidents occur due to a certain set of circumstances, the accident is investigated thoroughly and a set of recommendations are produced to prevent it from re-occuring again.

We have an avid Air Crash Investigation fan amongst us then? Makes two of us.

[Tim Dasco]

^ Make it 3.

[elemist]

Just now, AllegroCrab said:

We have an avid Air Crash Investigation fan amongst us then? Makes two of us.

Indeed - i must say i find most post incident reports a good read. It's amazing the process they go through during investigations and how they attack problems from completely surprising angles to make the determinations as to the cause.

Plus it never ceases to amaze me how a string of somewhat inert minor things can piece together to cause a major incident.

[jake_hunt]

@Jamberoo Fan I guess that's better than I thought it was, I only breezed through the article. Guilty as charged.

[JeffreyMoore]

Well first we will have to watch the investigation into just what has happend and then see just what hit dreamworlds bottom line is going to take before there reputation building phase starts i gess

[Flynn_Smith]

29 minutes ago, reanimated35 said:

Completely understand, and I probably come across as insensitive, so I apologise, I've seen enough photos and video to be desensitised to this stuff sadly. There's risk in everything and every form of entertainment. 

People (not you, just going off on a tangent here) calling for the park to close and IMO stupid idiots. They're probably the same people who happily smoke themselves to death. You'd think you're pretty safe going to watch a live motor race, right? If you read the fine print of the ticket (or at least as of around 5 years ago when I last went) they warn you that as a spectator, there's a risk of death by attending the event. 

IMO, it's going to take a lot for it to happen, but I think the park will bounce back from this. It's possible the ride will re-open with a few new safety features. Whether that be physical additions to the ride, a new PLC, or something else entirely is yet to be seen. There's the possibility the ride will close forever and Gold Rush will be removed and rethemed to something else. Who knows. 

^ Most of that probably isn't relevant to much, but it's my thoughts anyway. 

I was thinking, to prevent any movement of the boat, they should put in little guards that fit over the top of the boat itself, creating almost a roof to the rubber part. This would stop any major movement.

[www worker 2.0]

Expecting press conference in morning. I'm off now shall be back on tomorrow. Once again horrible tragic day.

[ashhole157]

Any new information you can clarify on? Like operator error or just a freak accident.

[razza1987]

3 hours ago, reanimated35 said:

 Whether that be physical additions to the ride, a new PLC, or something else entirely is yet to be seen. There's the possibility the ride will close forever and Gold Rush will be removed and rethemed to something else. Who knows. 

^ Most of that probably isn't relevant to much, but it's my thoughts anyway. 

What's PLC?

[JeffreyMoore]

Program logic controller - or simply the main computer 

[razza1987]

3 minutes ago, JeffreyMoore said:

Program logic controller - or simply the main computer 

Thank you for answering

 

it took me forever to fall asleep last night after hearing this news. Just awful 

[JeffreyMoore]

29 minutes ago, razza1987 said:

Thank you for answering

 

it took me forever to fall asleep last night after hearing this news. Just awful 

Same still in shock 

[pazzap]

11 hours ago, liz.wis said:

It makes it seem substantially more worse now how the media jump on every small theme park incident looking for a story, for example, a mid-ride stoppage and evacuation on Storm - and as it's mentioned here "everything was working as is should be", and now these non-events are being used against the safety of the parks.

Edited, as I also offer my condolences to friends and family members of those involved, and the staff and general public that witnessed the tragic event.

Right. To incorporate a water coaster's lift hill stopping safely into a tragic story like this, is actually pretty low of the media. This is a serious accident where things obviously did NOT work as they should be, and it resulted in really horrible tragedy. If they want to report similar incidents they should report the american rapids ride overturning incident, not a coaster train getting stuck on a lift hill. In fact, i wish just one time, just once, media would add to such reports about storm, that all safety mechanisms functioned as normal, and it is not unusual for a rollercoaster lift hill to get stuck and it absolutely does not pose any danger. But they sensationalise it. No wonder trust in the mainstream media is at an all time low. Anything for a story.

To those families affected by this tragedy: May your loved ones rest in peace, and all my thoughts and prayers are with you to recover as best as you possibly can.

On dreamworld, i think, remove the rapids ride and eureka and just do something else there. Perilous plunge never really recovered at knotts after the death and it was removed. Same will happen here. I think if there are no reminders of it, people will eventually move on and trust in the park will be fine. Just having eureka and rapids closed permanently is like displaying lack of confidence in an entire section of the park. Just my 2c.

[UpperCoomera]

As a cameraman I've seen more than enough tragedy in my life, this has floored me. No sleep at all last night and seeing that horrible front page picture in the Courier Mail on arrival at work at 3am this morning broke me.

I hate to say my work has hardened me a little over the years, but this...this is...what the hell do you say? 

A lot of people here are calling the media vultures and they're right in saying so. Just remember it's the bosses calling the shots, not the 'lowly' camera operators, etc. They are affected to no ends by tragedies like this. We find ourselves in situations where we are thrown into the chaos as 1st-on-scene in a lot of tragic circumstances and affects us for the rest of our lives. This is in no way excusing the disgusting way the media are 'reporting' on this, just providing some insight into those who are thrust into horrible things like this just because it's our job.

The 1st call I got was a report that a carriage on Buzzsaw collided with 'something' on the track. When I got there and realised what happened I turned around and went home, something I can do now that I am freelance.

I think the Courier Mail and Gold Coast Bulletin in particular should be ashamed of themselves publishing the photos of those victims caught up in the rides. 

Will Parkz be organising a tribute at Dreamworld at all? We are a community on here and as a community I would like to get together to pay our respects and express our sorrow while being mindful of those involved. 

Let's never forget them

 

 

[razza1987]

Wow I didn't know there was an overturning at Knotts of a similar ride 

[Richard]

9 hours ago, elemist said:

From the Reddit thread -  http://imgur.com/a/fWQBY

This suggestion is incorrect. That small patch of white is not one of the steel bars but rather one of the cloth sheets placed at the site after the incident. The placement of the raft in that photo is not a location where there there are any steel bars or mechanical devices to hold the rafts in place.

There's some images from other angles in The Sun's coverage, but be warned it's distressing and their information/speculation is also woefully incorrect.