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Accident at Ohio State Fair- 1 dead, 7 injured

Snoo

The Legend
While they did open the fair today, they closed all rides until further notice as well as the area around the ride has been closed off. The folks are LUCKY the car that detached didn't land upside down or you would be seeing 5 dead instead of just 1.

Just to note, those who inspect these rides are the same folks who check rides at other major parks in Ohio such as Cedar Point and Kings Island. This may have just been a horrible accident. While the operator should have noticed MUCH sooner something was going on, that won't always stop something bad from occurring.

FYI to those unaware, the Ohio State Fair isn't just rides, it's got an enormous amount of other "MURICA" stuff going on. Attendance was DEAD today for obvious reasons and I won't be heading to the fair as well, even if it is only about 15 minutes down the road.
 

Pokemaniac

Mountain monkey
Staff member
Administrator
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This was quite a gruesome accident. Pretty much worst case as far as flat ride accidents go, with people flung out and parts falling off and all. I mean, coaster and drop tower accidents may tend to be messier, but when something swinging breaks, it looks horrible. I guess it was lucky that the seats landed on their backs, though. Hopefully, the seven injured will make a speedy recovery.

Attendance was DEAD today for obvious reasons...

Oh dear...
 
What an awful accident, but as someone mentioned previously, I really can't believe there weren't more fatalities. If that one arm had landed the other way, more people definitely would have been killed or there would have almost certainly been loss of limbs at the very least. It actually almost reminded me of the crash at M&Ds, where if the car had landed the other way, the outcome would have been a lot worse. Still, it's an awful accident and it doesn't seem like it could have been prevented, which is a scary thought. Very tragic for the family of those injured and the family of the deceased, including his girlfriend who had to be a part of the crash that took his life.
 

Ireeb

Mega Poster
What an awful accident, but as someone mentioned previously, I really can't believe there weren't more fatalities. If that one arm had landed the other way, more people definitely would have been killed or there would have almost certainly been loss of limbs at the very least. It actually almost reminded me of the crash at M&Ds, where if the car had landed the other way, the outcome would have been a lot worse. Still, it's an awful accident and it doesn't seem like it could have been prevented, which is a scary thought. Very tragic for the family of those injured and the family of the deceased, including his girlfriend who had to be a part of the crash that took his life.
It could have been prevented by checking for material fatigue. They do it in German theme parks, but I don't know about fairs.
 

Hixee

Flojector
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Administrator
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It could have been prevented by checking for material fatigue. They do it in German theme parks, but I don't know about fairs.
Do you happen to know how they do this in Germany? Is it just a visual inspection, or some more advanced non-destructive testing technique (some like acoustic or magnetic imaging)?
 

Ireeb

Mega Poster
Do you happen to know how they do this in Germany? Is it just a visual inspection, or some more advanced non-destructive testing technique (some like acoustic or magnetic imaging)?
I don't know how they do it exactly, but it is more than a visual check. I guess they use ultrasonic. They don't always do it on all attractions, the inspector can decide whether it is necessary or not. But if a ride or part reaches a certain age, they will check for that. A visual check for wear, tear and rust is compulsory though. Especially if the inspector sees some some issues visually, they may check the materials internally as well.
 

Screaming Coasters

Strata Poster
Do you happen to know how they do this in Germany? Is it just a visual inspection, or some more advanced non-destructive testing technique (some like acoustic or magnetic imaging)?

In the UK, ADIPS (being the strictest regulators) require park and fair operators to pass their weld joints through UV detection. A reactive spray is applied on welds or high stress points and the tests are carried out. Similar methods are required by TUV, who govern the rest of Europe.
 

zazobo

Hyper Poster
In the UK, ADIPS (being the strictest regulators) require park and fair operators to pass their weld joints through UV detection. A reactive spray is applied on welds or high stress points and the tests are carried out. Similar methods are required by TUV, who govern the rest of Europe.


Out of interest, how often do they do that?
 

Ireeb

Mega Poster
In Germany TÜV checks roller coasters every year, other attractions every second year. As I already mentioned the material checks are only performed if the inspector sees that it is necessary. I don't know anything about ADIPS though.
 

davidm

Strata Poster
UK HSE shuts down some UK afterburners (Lightwater Valley, Pleasurewood Hills, Coney Beach, Brean and Joseph Manning's);
An HSE spokeswoman said all five rides in the UK had been "thoroughly inspected within the last 12 months", but there was no "verified information" on the cause of the fatal accident in the US.
As a result the body had served an enforcement notice on the machines, which takes them out of use.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40788040
 
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