Guest taken to hospital after metal object falls off TTD

per-say

Not Latin.

I feel old when people refer to Dragster as "iconic" when I can recall the bumper cars (now at Michigan's Adventure) in that spot. I can still smell the ozone.

BleauxJays said:

I doubt they close it for good unless they find something inherently wrong that they cannot confidently fix.

I just don't see it reopening in time for next year, if at all. Even with the initial investigation report that was released yesterday, there is so much more work to do. You can't even begin to come up with additional safety features or engineer a solution until you get to the root of the problem.Every square inch of TTD will now be inspected with a fine tooth comb. That's not a process that happens overnight.

The incident at STR led to the root of its demise. It wouldn’t surprise me if this happened to TTD (plus also the fact that it’s a maintenance nightmare)…. But then again compare the popularity of TTD to STR…. Time will tell.

It was also a whole lot easier to tear down STR than TTD

2020TpForSale said:

I just don't see it reopening in time for next year, if at all. ... You can't even begin to come up with additional safety features or engineer a solution until you get to the root of the problem.

You need not figure out the cause of the incident in order to mitigate the effects of it should it happen again. Some of that under track netting might be adequate.

I would think the biggest obstacle to deal with would be the replacement track that is presumably needed, but if they get that into production now they could feasibly install it early next year I would think.

I mean they fabricated new pieces, shipped, and replaced Maverick's heartline roll in a matter of a few weeks. Admittedly, having not seeing whatever this damage is, I would be shocked if it required replacement of full pieces and not just repaired in place.

Speaking of Maverick's heartline roll, I found it interesting that Intamin finally got that element right on Velocicoaster. Which is a fantastic ride.

Macevehicz posted a pic over on CoasterBuzz that shows the part in question… Look just inside and above the wheel bogeys. Sure looks like what that guy was holding in the other picture.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/invertalon/16048494363/in/album-72157650618870697/

That's a great find. Wonder if they could do-away entirely with the bolts by welding to the chassis if indeed that piece would still be needed.

Mr. Potato said:

I mean they fabricated new pieces, shipped, and replaced Maverick's heartline roll in a matter of a few weeks. Admittedly, having not seeing whatever this damage is, I would be shocked if it required replacement of full pieces and not just repaired in place.

I’d always heard that they fabricated the heartline replacement ahead of time, and it was sitting there ready to go when Stengel told them to pull it.

I've heard that rumor too, but can't say it with any confidence. I can only speak to the update provided by the park at the time. And I'm sure that decision would have come from Sandor.

Just playing the devils advocate here. If they were to fabricate the exact same piece of a part that's already failed, wouldn't that just be setting it up for disaster again? I'd love to hear some input on this.

2020TpForSale said:

^With. all due respect, I'd call it analyzing and debating. That's what these forums are about. And if you can find a forum where it's all Kum ba yah and Barney songs, then have at it.

Touche....

https://postimg.cc/0b4fZ4K9

Might this be the bracket? I realize it's not a close up picture, but I didn't know it would be relevant when I took it 2 years ago.

Yeah Kernacs, is what I meant.. stupid 🧠

djDaemon said:

I'm mocking your snarky assumption that Matt was suggesting they've been using incorrect bolts since the ride opened. It seemed to me he was implying an incorrect grade bolt was used during the train's most recent seasonal rebuild. Of course I could be wrong.

Yea I was implying that MAYBE the wrong ones were used during offseason or even in-season maintenance. I don't assume the same bolts have been in place for 18 years. I have no idea what they'll find. Just throwing some possibilities out there. Other people probably have some theories as well and it's interesting to talk about them even though it sucks that a bad injury happened as a result of this.

2020TpForSale said:

Someone earlier in this thread listed the plethora (5 points for using that word) of incidents that happened on TTD. Throughout the years, these incidents have become more severe in nature.

Wouldn't it be a smack in the face to this victim and previous victims of less severe incidents if CP just said, Oh well, we'll fix it and reopen next year?

Again, this isn't just an isolated event with TTD. A cable has snapped, causing minor injuries due to metal shards. A tire went flying off.... and I'm sure there are other incidents I'm missing.

The decorative tire flew off in 2003, the same year Dragster opened. It was the most severe incident IMO because it had the highest potential of causing injuries or deaths due to the larger size and mass of the object compared to the other incidents. Removing them from the trains was an easy way to make sure that never happened again. Thankfully it went flying through an area with no guests rather than into the queue line or onto the midway, both of which could have happened if the decorative tire on the other side failed and/or if it failed at a different time during the ride cycle.

It would not be a smack in anyone's face to reopen it as long as they are able to implement mitigating factors to prevent the issue from happening again. I expect it will make much more sense to find mitigations even if it takes significant time/effort/money or even modifications and/or re-engineering of the trains and/or track sections. If it turns out to be a fastener issue, that could be handled by the park changing maintenance procedures, inspection procedures, and/or suppliers. If there was a design issue making all accelerator coasters unsafe, I am sure Intamin would do whatever was needed to fix it to prevent their customers from having to shut down all of those coasters.

Six Flags reopened New Texas Giant with mitigations in place (re-designed restraint-bar pads from the manufacturer and newly added seat belts) after a rider fell out and died...it is standard operating procedure.

http://www.sixflags.com/overtexas/info/texasupdate.aspx]https://web.archive.org/web/20131031093121/http://www.sixflags.com/...pdate.aspx

If CP closed a coaster whenever it seriously injured a someone, Cedar Creek Mine Ride would no longer exist. Granted times have changed since that incident in 1984.

https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=799&dat=19840525&id=ipdjAAAA...93,5194335

Shane Denmark said:

The other accidents happened on the ride and none of them resulted in brains showing through skull. And this accident in question the person wasn’t even on the ride. Those last two points a HUGE differences between this and other examples.

Virtually everyone in the queue line was going to ride Dragster, so personally I don't think an injury to someone waiting in line would be handled differently than an injury to someone on the coaster in terms of the decision whether or not to reopen the coaster.

I can imagine seeing someone in such a bad state after being hit by a part from a coaster is traumatic for guests nearby, but seeing someone fall to their death from a ride would also be traumatic for guests to see and coasters at other parks have reopened after that happened.

DRE420 said:

https://postimg.cc/0b4fZ4K9

Might this be the bracket? I realize it's not a close up picture, but I didn't know it would be relevant when I took it 2 years ago.

Could also be the L shaped bracket just inside the front left upper wheel. Looks about the right size and placement for where the little green sensors are just inside the rails. Looks like there is an identical bracket inside the right wheel as well.

I just don't see it reopening in time for next year, if at all. Even with the initial investigation report that was released yesterday, there is so much more work to do. You can't even begin to come up with additional safety features or engineer a solution until you get to the root of the problem.Every square inch of TTD will now be inspected with a fine tooth comb. That's not a process that happens overnight.

Maybe, a lot depends on what they find out. If it was a maintenance mistake the resulting actions and timing will be much different than a fundamental structural issue with the ride. The reality is, no one knows enough at this point to say anything either way.