Carowinds

[GAcoaster]

And this is why trim brakes are often added to coasters.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

And this is why trim brakes are often added to coasters.

Trims are for guest comfort, this is just bad design. See:

 

[UniversalRBLX]

We will never find the actual story, but I would be shocked if the maintenance team didn’t know this. We’ve never seen something like this before

 

[GAcoaster]

Trims are for guest comfort, this is just bad design. See:

It's both stress on riders and stress on the structure.

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

Will all other B&M hypers/gigas be closed for similar inspection?

 

[Jake S]

Will all other B&M hypers/gigas be closed for similar inspection?

a cursory look at wait times for other B&M hypers around the country, including the one at Carowinds (Intimidator), indicates... no. or at least, not now.

 

[GAcoaster]

I'm guessing that ALL B&M coasters are being inspected a little closer today. This must have happened very quickly, but there had to have been stress cracks before it broke completely.

 

[BayAreaBubba]

I'm guessing that ALL B&M coasters are being inspected a little closer today. This must have happened very quickly, but there had to have been stress cracks before it broke completely.

Apparently a guest didn’t notice until examining their week old photos that the signs were already showing.

 

[Evan]

How horrifying. Thank goodness they are over engineered.

 

[fryoj]

I can see how that would be missed by someone doing routine track inspections. Doing the same thing over and over, day after day, they are probably either walking or driving by looking at the track. It's not hard to fall into a routine and not even notice something on a support. Especially in an area they should never see a problem. That being said, I guarantee whoever has been doing the inspections has been either been fired, reassigned, or have been screamed at enough to never make that mistake again.

As for the actual failure, if it got caught at crack stage, they probably reweld and go on like normal. Didn't we hear about Hulk and DD getting routine crack welding over the years? But now that it broke the support and is national news, they have to go through the whole ride from design to maintenance to determine what happened and make sure it doesn't happen again.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Apparently a guest didn’t notice until examining their week old photos that the signs were already showing.

Exactly this doesn't happen "very quickly" this is a stress fracture in the weld.

Going to pop open by Statics and Dynamics books when I get home.

 

[GAcoaster]

I can see how that would be missed by someone doing routine track inspections. Doing the same thing over and over, day after day, they are probably either walking or driving by looking at the track. It's not hard to fall into a routine and not even notice something on a support. Especially in an area they should never see a problem. That being said, I guarantee whoever has been doing the inspections has been either been fired, reassigned, or have been screamed at enough to never make that mistake again.

As for the actual failure, if it got caught at crack stage, they probably reweld and go on like normal. Didn't we hear about Hulk and DD getting routine crack welding over the years? But now that it broke the support and is national news, they have to go through the whole ride from design to maintenance to determine what happened and make sure it doesn't happen again.

When you think about track inspections being done before the sun rises much of the time, it makes it more likely something like that could be missed. I assume the real concentration is the track itself that gets inspected.

 

[Southerncoasterer]

Stress fractures happen all the time. We just don't hear about it because it's usually caught during inspections. Tatsu had one a few years ago that shut down the ride for over a month.

Sometimes it's funny watching enthusiasts complain about an extended ride closure, knowing that behind the scenes, the park is doing what's necessary to guarantee guest safety.

 

[GAcoaster]

So it looks like they welded some plates on to hold everything securely while they wait for a new support to be fabricated:

 

[MrRoamer]

I think the bigger issue based on this article is the employees didn't even care when the guy showed them the FOOTAGE. I can understand something happening quickly (even though it doesn't appear this was the case), seeing a broken support on your newer Giga should be a major alarm.

Also regarding the statement about getting into a rut because its the same thing over and over. I totally get that, but if your job is ensuring the safety of your attractions and your guests. You should look for a different job or different procedures should be put in place.

I find it very difficult to believe that none of their employees noticed the crack at some point.

A man who tried to warn a North Carolina amusement park about a huge crack in the ride's support beam said staff were 'nonchalant' and had 'no urgency' to fix it

"It could have come unhinged and just went like a steamroller through the parking lot," Jeremy Wagner, who saw the crack, told The Washington Post.

www.insider.com

 

[Evan]

 

[JaySalahi]

His take seems to be spot on. He said if its issue X then they will ship a new support in a week and it seems he was right. He also talks about how that turn could probably lose 1 or 2 more supports and it could still run for 2 years before it would be truly "unsafe" as coaster are over designed for longevity and safety reasons.


Edit: This guy is a ride mechanic at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom

 

[Jake S]

hello! I might be able to squeeze in a half day at carowinds while on a work trip this week. do y'all recommend fast lane? or will I be able to do most attractions worth doing without it?

 

[GAcoaster]

Depends on crowd levels-- what day of the week?

Also, if it's in August, check to make sure they're open on the day you're planning on going.

 

[Jake S]

Depends on crowd levels-- what day of the week?

Also, if it's in August, check to make sure they're open on the day you're planning on going.

it'll be this thursday — looks like they're open from 10am-10pm. my plan would be to get there at opening and power through as many of the coasters as possible before needing to bail around 2-3 p.m.