Vertigo single tower collapse

Has there been an "official" explanation of the VT collapse?

An UNofficial explanation?

I'd bet metal fatigue, but what do I know?

MrScott

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"If we go any faster, she'll blow apart for sure!"

Some far, the UNofficial explantion has been reported to be that that a crack in the column developed during off-season and since it had not been looked over in the off-season the crack grew until the portion of the column finally broke. After conducting ultrasonic tests the other columns along with the other rides all seem to be fine. At this point in time, inspectors are at work and test results should start to come back in about one to two weeks. From what I hear, the one tower is pretty much beat up. Again, none of that is confirmed it is just what I have heard.

Scream Scape has been in contact with S&S and they have quite some info: http://www.screamscape.com/html/cedar_point.html

- Andrew Hyde
http://www.experiencethepoint.com

*** This post was edited by Andrew on 1/22/2002. ***

I have emailed CP about this problem. And have heard nothing from them in over a week and 1 day. Yes i know that they are ever busy with everthing and probly got flodded with emails, but an't they put somthing up on there website about this. It was been a week and 1 day and nothing still that i can see is up on the website about this. I think that they will put Vertigo back up and check ever thing over and over again. This kinda makes you think what would have happened if the people were on it. There is still no news that i know of about y it fell over. And i would REALLY like to know y. Kinda weird that it would just fall over!!

Also to my last post all these people are talking about using the same tower! What are you thinking! If it fell once whats goign to stop the same tower from falling again. I am looking foward to riding the ride. Also i don't think the price will go down. The only people that ride that ride are people that love rides like it, so they will keep riding and not stop tell they die! RIDE ON!

CP is going to post something on their website about one of their rides that collapsed during the winter!?  Get real!  I ask you, "What are you thinking?"  In all seriousness though, there are some pics of the tower over at The Point Online and that tower is pretty beat up.  I don't think there is any way much of that is being reused.

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-Matt
2001 Magnum Crew

I doubt very much that this incident would have happened during the season. I'm sure maintenance would have caught this problem before it became catastrophic. These towers are very much like springs, they are always in motion, that's why a small crack was able to grow and cause the failure of the one tower. I know nothing of CP maintenance procedures, but I would guess that because of the nature of the towers, they are treated as more of a mechanical piece than just a structural piece. They function not only to hold the ride up, but to bend and soften the stop and transition at the top. In light of this, they probably undergo more intense inspections during the season then, lets say, the towers on Power Tower. That is just a guess, but it makes sense to me. IMHO, CP is at the pinnacle of safety in the industry. They know what they are doing. If a ride is running, don’t hesitate to ride it. It’s safe.

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It's very hard to drink all day...
Unless you start first thing in the morning.

Interesting post, MrPete. 

But they keep stressing that this developed in the off season.  That worries me. 

Think about what would have happened if the crack developed in August or September...  Who's to say it didn't?  They are pushing the "Off Season" reasoning SO much!

Do you actually think that CP Maintence guys would actually have seen a small crack 65 FEET up into the brightness of a daylight sky?  Thank God this thing fell over during the off season.  Disaster averted.

MrScott

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"If we go any faster, she'll blow apart for sure!"

CP Rules, the response center isn't even there now, so they won't answer.
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"Well I heard that guys with long signatures are just trying to make up for a shortage in their pants..."

MrScott: You're missing the point. The rides are inspected on a rolling basis during the season. It would have been caught. The ladders they put on those aren't there for decoration.
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Jeff
Webmaster/GTTP, Sillynonsense.com
"As far as I can tell it doesn't matter who you are. If you can believe, there's something worth fighting for..." - Garbage, "Parade"

I'm not entirely familiar with the operation of those towers (!). Are the towers themselves used as part of the pressure system on the ride? If so, a crack would have been detected through the pressure drop. Some manufacturers pump hollow structures full of nitrogen and monitor the pressure, so that if the pressure drops, you know there is a structural crack.

So if S&S's designs employ anything of that kind, the crack would have been found. But in the off-season, nobody would be watching.

--Dave Althoff, Jr. (Just guessing, of course!)

From what I've seen on Power Tower, S&S can remotely monitor most of their rides using a modem in the rides PLC. I would assume VertiGo would have this feature...
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2000 - Cedar Downs, WildCat crews
2001 - Cedar Downs ATL, WildCat ATL, Magnum Crew, Gemini Crew
2002 - Wave Swinger - Swan Boats TL

MrJeff:  What point am I missing?  What if the crack (s) developed in between shots?  I know they don't climb those towers in between each and every one.

IMO, CP was very fortunate with the timing of this collapse.  The crack (s) may or may not have been caught during the operating season.  To say that they absolutley would have is crazy.  Take off the blinders!  I hope CP's management does...

MrScott

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"If we go any faster, she'll blow apart for sure!"

It's not a cookie, it won't crumble. I'm no metalurgist or anything, but any kind of defect that would cause a crack large enough to spontaneously bring a tower down without warning would be found before the ride was ever erected. The kind of instant failure you're suggesting is something like the door of your car flying off while driving. It doesn't happen.

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Jeff
Webmaster/GTTP, Sillynonsense.com
"As far as I can tell it doesn't matter who you are. If you can believe, there's something worth fighting for..." - Garbage, "Parade"

A crack starts small and then grows. Ever ride in an airliner? Many airplanes have small cracks in them that occur from use and ageing. When the airframe is inspected during a maintenance check these cracks are fixed or parts are replaced. That doesn't mean that the airplane is dangerous to ride in. Preventative maintenance schedules take all kinds of potential problems into account. The inspection intervals are set to detect problems before they become dangerous. No one has blinders on. CP's procedures in operation and maintenance has resulted in an outstanding safety record. I'm simply giving credit where credit is due. How CP operates works, the mechanical condition of a ride is not something that I even think about when I visit the park.

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It's very hard to drink all day...
Unless you start first thing in the morning.

Does anyone have a problem with TPO having photos of it? there seems to be an uproar over there about it and apparently CP officials are none too pleased about it.

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Go Full Force

Yes, I do. It's stupid things like that that ruin the opportunities for the rest of us who play by the rules. Some people bust their asses to do something nice on a coaster site for people to see, only to be later denied because someone decides they're gonna do something really cool and get the scoop. The same thing went on during the construction of Millennium Force, and we had to wait more than a year to post the construction photos we shot.

Bottom line is that if you want the perks that make it easier for you to produce a good site, with the park's "blessing" (that's not the right word, but you get the idea), you play nice. That's why some people are invited to media events, get construction tours, interview chief executives and manufacturers, get parks to be corporate members of their clubs, etc., while others do not. If you're a true advocate of the park, you know right from wrong and you protect the park's interest. If you don't watch their back, they sure as hell aren't going to watch yours.

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Jeff
Webmaster/GTTP, Sillynonsense.com
"As far as I can tell it doesn't matter who you are. If you can believe, there's something worth fighting for..." - Garbage, "Parade"

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thrillman said:
Does anyone have a problem with TPO having photos of it? there seems to be an uproar over there about it and apparently CP officials are none too pleased about it.

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I thought that might happen.  Where have you read about it?  The pictures aren't there anymore.

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"Well I heard that guys with long signatures are just trying to make up for a shortage in their pants..."

...imagine that...

I was wondering myself how someone got back there to take those pics.  I figured it was most likely the work of the fine CP security letting someone through who shouldn't have gotten through.  My other thought was that someone parked by Bay Harbor as if they were eating and walked back on foot and just got lucky.  Either way I think what the picture taker did was not really right and I wouldn't expect expect any favors from CP if I were him.  I figured the pics might disappear so I saved a couple of them.  Interesting to look at, but why do people think they are breaking a huge story by showing a couple pics of a mangled tower?  Everyone could have probably imagined pretty much what the towers looked like.

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-Matt
2001 Magnum Crew

Just thought everyone would like to know that the 13abc.com camera is up and running again... It is dark right now, so we will have to wait until morning to see if any work has been done since the last picture taken on 1-15-02

www.13abc.com/images/cpcam.jpg

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probie