Well, looks like I owe an apology to the manufacturer, because I was 100% certain that this had to be a manufacturing error. However, in my defense, the reality of the situation is so unbelievably insane, reckless, brazen, and irresponsible, I don't think any rational person could have ever predicted that this was a likely scenario. That some "random*" person decided a seat needed the MAIN SAFETY FEATURE to be adjusted without considering that maybe - JUST MAYBE - the ride manufacturer made the limitations of the harness closure X inches for a freaking REASON? I mean, I genuinely assumed the manufacturer must have flat out skipped very basic physics calculations which led to this tragedy. And yet that still doesn't match the level of idiocy of what actually happened.
*And when I say "random" person, I don't mean just some random dude off the street. But this surely wasn't a call made by the manufacturer after the fact (or at least, I don't think so...but good Lord, look how wrong I was before, so who the heck knows at this point), but was probably made by who....some mid-management type wanting to be more "accommodating?" The ride owner? Maybe ICON park if they were getting complaints at guest services from bigger guests about not being able to ride anything? Probably no one involved in the manufacturing itself since this seems to be an adjustment that was made later after opening. (And this DOES explain a question I asked a few pages back about why this didn't sooner after the ride opened, given that there are plenty of people in the world that are this kid's size. I assume the adjustment was probably made not too long before this accident happened). But even so...those people who made this decision probably weren't the ones who would know HOW to adjust the harness, right? Did they seriously get some maintenance worker to adjust it for them? Surely the maintenance worker would have thought tampering with the main safety component of the seat was a HORRIBLE idea. Did he just do what he was told because he didn't care? He didn't know any better? Was he threatened to do so lest he be fired?
Like...it is truly mind boggling that THIS is how this happened. Seriously....someone is going to jail for this.