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Icon Park - Drop Tower Accident 24/03/2022

oriolat2

Giga Poster
To clarify even further, Orlando Slingshot is the division of Funtime that owns and operates the ICON park thrill rides, Magical Midway a little further up International Drive and Screamer's Park at Daytona Beach.
Fun fact - Orlando Slingshot leased the area where the Orlando Starflyer sits after negotiations with John Arie, the owner of the Fun Spot parks, fell through. Orlando Slingshot was originally supposed to lease the plot of land across the street from White Lightning's station to operate the world's tallest Starflyer and Slingshot rides. However, there was bad blood between the two for years, as Magical Midway was the only place that refused to pay the annual fee to Arie, who owns the patient for multi-level go carts. Arie sued Magical Midway (aka Orlando Slingshot), but a settlement was reached before going to trial.
That is some hot tea! Thanks for sharing the ins and outs of the Orlando Slinghost division. So, correct me if I am wrong, if the Orlando Slingshot was a division of Funtime, and the Orlando Freefall was made by Funtime, could it be assumed that Funtime was aware of the tweaking that was done to the ride hardware to allow larger guests?
 

SimonProD

Mega Poster
Wonder if it will be melted down or if it might pop up somewhere else. The structure itself should be an almost brand new drop tower.
I wondered the same thing. If it goes back to the manufacturer and restored to its specs I guess it could run again. Likely not anywhere near Orlando...
 

Nicky Borrill

Strata Poster
That is some hot tea! Thanks for sharing the ins and outs of the Orlando Slinghost division. So, correct me if I am wrong, if the Orlando Slingshot was a division of Funtime, and the Orlando Freefall was made by Funtime, could it be assumed that Funtime was aware of the tweaking that was done to the ride hardware to allow larger guests?
Great question, I had no idea they were basically the manufacturer as well as the operator.
 

ECG

East Coast(er) General
Staff member
Administrator
That is some hot tea! Thanks for sharing the ins and outs of the Orlando Slinghost division. So, correct me if I am wrong, if the Orlando Slingshot was a division of Funtime, and the Orlando Freefall was made by Funtime, could it be assumed that Funtime was aware of the tweaking that was done to the ride hardware to allow larger guests?
Not sure, but I highly doubt it. Especially since Funtime is located in Australia, I doubt the folks that run the company were in the loop about what was happening with the ride other than assuming everything was as it should be. Was Six Flags headquarters in Arlington, Texas aware of what led to various maintenance failure accidents at their parks beforehand? Kind of the same thing IMO, whether intentional or not.
 

Nicky Borrill

Strata Poster
Although the operater company is owned by the manufacturer, they're still different companies (and not just divisions of the same company) that sit on different contintents. :)
But that age old saying ‘the buck stops at the top’ still applies, no?

There’s often a blame game when things like this happen, back and forth between the operators and manufacturers. We’ve seen it lots of times, and we’ve even seen it here. But that seems, to me, kind of irrelevant. If ultimately, one party ‘owns’ the other. No matter how far away they are.
 

TPoseOnTantrum

Giga Poster
Going to revive this thread since the next week or two will be interesting indeed. The operators have agreed to pay said $250,000 fine after some deliberation. Demolition has been greenlit, and as of today we've got a crane up by the Orlando Freefall. The plan is to have this down by the one year anniversary of the accident, which would be Saturday of next week;
 

Lori Marie Loud

Giga Poster
Going to revive this thread since the next week or two will be interesting indeed. The operators have agreed to pay said $250,000 fine after some deliberation. Demolition has been greenlit, and as of today we've got a crane up by the Orlando Freefall. The plan is to have this down by the one year anniversary of the accident, which would be Saturday of next week;
Farewell, Orlando Freefall, see you in some other distant land by 2024
 

Ethan

Strata Poster
I'm assuming we haven't heard anything about a third party buying the tower? I know the ride itself (without modified restraints) is perfectly safe, but I think trying to open it elsewhere would be risky as I imagine once word spreads that it's the same ride, many people would hesitate getting on it.
 

Nicky Borrill

Strata Poster
Burn it, burn it with fire...

@bratcurry is obviously right, there's nothing wrong with it mechanically apart from the illegal alterations, but man, just being stood near it after what happened was seriously saddening. I guess it's similar to the difference between being stood on a spot where you know somebody has died, and being stood on a spot where somebody was murdered. There's a definite difference. I wouldn't ride it anywhere else, just because of that uncomfortable feeling. This was far from an 'unfortunate accident.'
 

cookie

Giga Poster
Burn it, burn it with fire...

@bratcurry is obviously right, there's nothing wrong with it mechanically apart from the illegal alterations, but man, just being stood near it after what happened was seriously saddening. I guess it's similar to the difference between being stood on a spot where you know somebody has died, and being stood on a spot where somebody was murdered. There's a definite difference. I wouldn't ride it anywhere else, just because of that uncomfortable feeling. This was far from an 'unfortunate accident.'
Come on now. Let’s not imply malice to something that was clearly the result of negligence. The people altering the ride and running it that way were irresponsible and should be trialed as such, but they weren’t out to intentionally harm anyone.

And I agree with @Peet that this isn’t really different from the likes of Quimera or other rides that are still running despite the accidents that have occured on them. The ride, when it runs as designed, is mechanically sound, and any potential buyer would make sure it stays that way. I don’t think its reputation is going to follow it as much as people here seem to think either, especially if it’s shipped overseas.
 
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Nicky Borrill

Strata Poster
Come on now. Let’s not apply malice to something that was clearly the result of negligence. The people altering the ride and running it that way were irresponsible and should be trialed as such, but they weren’t out to intentionally harm anyone.

And I agree with @Peet that this isn’t really different from the likes of Quimera or other rides that are still running despite the accidents that have occured on them. The ride, when it runs as designed, is mechanically sound, and any potential buyer would make sure it stays that way. I don’t think its reputation is going to follow it as much as people here seem to think either, especially if it’s shipped overseas.
Well I didn't imply intent to be fair, although having said that such reckless negligence, or 'malpractice,' is definitely malicious. How could you possibly tamper with such a critical safety system without intent to cause harm, or at the very least, some idea of the liklihood that it would cause harm?

Besides that though, I said murder, third degree murder in Florida is classified as:

Third Degree Murder is the unintentional killing of a person while committing a non-violent felony. Under Florida Statute 782.04(4), the crime of Third Degree Murder occurs when a person unintentionally kills another person while committing, or attempting to commit, a non-violent felony.

Tampering with the safety system was a none violent felony, that led to the death of another human being... In my opinion, that's 3rd degree murder under Florida law.
 

cookie

Giga Poster
Well I didn't imply intent to be fair
I mean, I don’t know of many other ways to interpret comparisons to murder (and bringing up Florida law after the fact I don’t think alleviates much) and putting scare quotes around ”unfortunate accident” if not to imply a more sinister underpinning. That may not be the intent, but that’s how I felt it came across. Preventable accidents are still accidents.

although having said that such reckless negligence, or 'malpractice,' is definitely malicious. How could you possibly tamper with such a critical safety system without intent to cause harm, or at the very least, some idea of the likelihood that it would cause harm?
Recklessness and malpractice, even severe ones, do not have to involve malice. It’s entirely possible that those involved knew there’d be a risk (wether an accident would occur or they get on the manufacturer’s bad side for not adhering to their specifications), but that’s a far cry from saying they deliberately set out to have riders falling to their deaths or just allowed it to happen. Unless evidence of malicious intent actually emerges, that’s going too far into the realm of conspiracy theories, in my personal opinion.
 
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