Roller coaster yikes!

[NutmegCT]

https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/01/us/north-carolina-roller-coaster-closed/index.html

 

[charlie74]

Glad they found it! Hopefully it was park staff rather than a rider…!

 

[NutmegCT]

No kidding. In the video you see the size of that crack, which opened wider whenever the ride made the turn, then closed up again. Wonder how long that had been happening.

 

[Mickey Richaud]

"...slightly move..." SHEESH!

I have never been on a roller coaster. And have lived to tell.

 

[DrEntropy]

A guy on the ground spotted and recorded it. I'll not understand the attraction for "thrill rides".

My last thrill ride was as "backseat baggage" in an F-4 Phantom, 6G maneuvers to avoid a SAM... no desire to ride a 'coaster. Goaded into it a decade ago at Universal, people screaming their a$$es off, thinking they were doing something death-defying. No point to it IMO.

 

[PAUL161]

I like how they said that their rides get Daily inspections! That break, not crack, did not all happen in one day! Quite a scary situation.

 

[John Turney]

Glad they found it! Hopefully it was park staff rather than a rider…!

It wasn't the staff, it was a visitor who decided not to ride.

 

[NutmegCT]

Interesting how nebulous the term "daily inspection" can be.

 

[YakkoWarner]

I enjoy a good coaster - not one that is literally coming apart at the seams....

 

[NutmegCT]

Undoubtedly someone will say that the massive crack was a safety feature.

It relieves stress during operation, and allows inspection of the steel frame inside.

 

[mikephillips]

I wouldn't call it a crack, I'd call it broken off. From the video it moved outward a bit and didn't seem to be attached anymore.

 

[Silverghost]

A guy on the ground spotted and recorded it. I'll not understand the attraction for "thrill rides".

My last thrill ride was as "backseat baggage" in an F-4 Phantom, 6G maneuvers to avoid a SAM... no desire to ride a 'coaster. Goaded into it a decade ago at Universal, people screaming their a$$es off, thinking they were doing something death-defying. No point to it IMO.

Doc, not even the Jackrabbit or the Thunderbolt at Kennywood?

 

[charlie74]

This would have been fun too!

Roller coaster riders were trapped upside down for hours after mechanical failure — NPR

The oscillating Fireball was just sliding down from its vertical loop at a festival in Crandon, Wis., on Sunday when it stopped unexpectedly, suspending its passengers for hours.

apple.news

 

[DrEntropy]

Doc, not even the Jackrabbit or the Thunderbolt at Kennywood?

The Kennywood "Thunderbolt" looked like the railroad trestles in cowboy movies where the trains would plunge into canyons or rivers.

Nope. Never got on it. Ferris wheels, same attitude. All those "fun rides" are operated by, mmm... let's just say their main job is to put butts in seats. "Daily inspections" seems a bit overstated in this latest instance as example.

I'll pass. minimized risk.

 

[equiprx]

This would have been fun too!

Roller coaster riders were trapped upside down for hours after mechanical failure — NPR

The oscillating Fireball was just sliding down from its vertical loop at a festival in Crandon, Wis., on Sunday when it stopped unexpectedly, suspending its passengers for hours.

apple.news

Don't humans black out after being inverted after a certain amount of time???