Spirited News, Observations & Thoughts Tres

Status
Not open for further replies.
ScoutN

ScoutN

OV 104
Premium Member
PhotoDave219 said:
Well, it seems pretty cut and dry that the guest was not properly restrained, leading to their ejection from the ride vehicle and subsequent death.

I'm not sure how much more there is to investigate.
Click to expand...


There is plenty to investigate. The train could not have departed without the computer clearing each and every restraint as engaged. Where was the breakdown there?
 
wishiwere@wdw

wishiwere@wdw

Well-Known Member
It's relevant because a witness told the media that the victims restraint only clicked once where everyone else's went click click click click click on its way down. I'm not saying that did or didn't have anything to do with the incident. Just saying it didn't click at all because it never has and never will because these restraints don't click to begin with. So now there are stories floating around that the restraint failed because of that 1 click story.

I'm no expert and certainly not a journalist but I've been on the ride enough times to know it doesn't click and was simply pointing out a case of the inaccuracies of the witnesses report. And this was one of many reports that contradicts other reports.
 
ScoutN

ScoutN

OV 104
Premium Member
wishiwere@wdw said:
It's relevant because a witness told the media that the victims restraint only clicked once where everyone else's went click click click click click on its way down. I'm not saying that did or didn't have anything to do with the incident. Just saying it didn't click at all because it never has and never will because these restraints don't click to begin with. So now there are stories floating around that the restraint failed because of that 1 click story.

I'm no expert and certainly not a journalist but I've been on the ride enough times to know it doesn't click and was simply pointing out a case of the inaccuracies of the witnesses report. And this was one of many reports that contradicts other reports.
Click to expand...


New style restraints like on Gerslauter trains and RMC trains and Zierer trains etc do not click. They are all smooth glide. The ratchet system is ultimately gone.
 
PhotoDave219

PhotoDave219

Well-Known Member
Scoutn757 said:
New style restraints like on Gerslauter trains and RMC trains and Zierer trains etc do not click. They are all smooth glide. The ratchet system is ultimately gone.
Click to expand...


After some serious digging, I finally found a photo of the car and the restraints.

Here's a really good photo from the Googles:
TX_Giant_G_trains2.jpg



The Rollercoaster Database says its an Individual racheting lap bar. It is not clear if they are referring to the current trains or the original ones built by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company.

The "Clicking" is coming from an eyewitness Carmen Brown quoted in this AP story here.

"She goes up like this. Then when it drops to come down, that's when it (the safety bar) released and she just tumbled," Carmen Brown of Arlington told The Dallas Morning News. Brown said she was waiting in line to get on the ride when the accident happened. She witnessed the woman being strapped into the ride.
"They didn't secure her right. One of the employees from the park — one of the ladies — she asked her to click her more than once, and they were like, 'As long you heard it click, you're OK.' Everybody else is like, 'Click, click, click.' " Brown told the newspaper.
"Hers only clicked once. Hers was the only one that went down once, and she didn't feel safe, but they let her still get on the ride," Brown said.
Click to expand...

Whether they click or not, that woman was not properly secured.
 
ScoutN

ScoutN

OV 104
Premium Member
PhotoDave219 said:
After some serious digging, I finally found a photo of the car and the restraints.

Here's a really good photo from the Googles:
TX_Giant_G_trains2.jpg



The Rollercoaster Database says its an Individual racheting lap bar. It is not clear if they are referring to the current trains or the original ones built by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company.

The "Clicking" is coming from an eyewitness Carmen Brown quoted in this AP story here.



Whether they click or not, that woman was not properly secured.
Click to expand...

I have spoke with a friend who lives in the area and frequents the park. He said the clicking story is BS. He has been on it over 50 times at this point. RCDB has a large database of rides. Some items are not updated that are as minor as that.
 
PhotoDave219

PhotoDave219

Well-Known Member
Scoutn757 said:
I have spoke with a friend who lives in the area and frequents the park. He said the clicking story is BS. He has been on it over 50 times at this point. RCDB has a large database of rides. Some items are not updated that are as minor as that.
Click to expand...


Well thats interesting.
 
wishiwere@wdw

wishiwere@wdw

Well-Known Member
It still says that from when it was a wooden coaster. The PTC's were in fact individual ratcheting lap bars. I've been on both versions of the ride countless times and know the types of trains very well.

I didn't want to speculate but honestly, I hate to say this but my personal opinion is that absolutely nothing went wrong with the restraint. See Superman ROS at Darien Lake. These restraints aren't ratcheting. They can't just "pop up".

Can we please move on to speculate about wdw instead? Maybe start a new thread elsewhere about this? :)
 
PhotoDave219

PhotoDave219

Well-Known Member
wishiwere@wdw said:
It still says that from when it was a wooden coaster. The PTC's were in fact individual ratcheting lap bars. I've been on both versions of the ride countless times and know the types of trains very well.

I didn't want to speculate but honestly, I hate to say this but my personal opinion is that absolutely nothing went wrong with the restraint. See Superman ROS at Darien Lake. These restraints aren't ratcheting. They can't just "pop up".

Can we please move on to speculate about wdw instead? Maybe start a new thread elsewhere about this? :)
Click to expand...



I refute your assertion that nothing was wrong with the restraints as shown by the dead woman who became unrestrained.
 
Lee

Lee

Adventurer
PhotoDave219 said:
The "Clicking" is coming from an eyewitness Carmen Brown quoted in this AP story here.
...

Whether they click or not, that woman was not properly secured.
Click to expand...
First, I would toss out everything that this Carmen Brown person is saying.
Carmen Brown said:
"She goes up like this. Then when it drops to come down, that's when it (the safety bar) released and she just tumbled," Brown, of Arlington, told the newspaper. "They didn't secure her right. One of the employees from the park — one of the ladies — she asked her to click her more than once, and they were like, 'As long you heard it click, you're OK.' Everybody else is like, 'Click, click, click.'
"Hers only clicked once. Hers was the only one that went down once, and she didn't feel safe, but they let her still get on the ride," Brown said.
Click to expand...

None of that is accurate.
1. The restraints don't click. They are hydraulic, and go down silently. In addition there are redundant (secondary hydraulic) systems in place to insure that the restraints don't release while the ride is in motion. Not to mention that the RCS won't allow the train to be dispatched if it senses that any of the restraints are not fully locked. Actual restraint failure is extremely uncommon, almost to the point of impossible.

2. She is incorrect about where the accident happened. It wasn't on the drop, it was at the overbanked turn after the double-down maneuver following the first drop.

If I had to guess, and I don't mean to be offensive to anyone here, I would immediately assume that she was of a body type that makes it difficult to seat properly. Similar to the accident a few years back on another coaster, if a restraint is closed and is only resting on a person's stomach, there is a real risk of the person's stomach popping out over the restraint during times of negative g's. This leaves the restraint loose around their mid-section until it is either pushed down by the rider or by positive g's later in the ride.

My instinct tells me that this rider's body became loose in the restraints during the double-down maneuver, and was ejected seconds later as the train went into the overbanked turn.

Time will tell....
Very sad thing, though.
 
Nubs70

Nubs70

Well-Known Member
Lee said:
First, I would toss out everything that this Carmen Brown person is saying.


None of that is accurate.
1. The restraints don't click. They are hydraulic, and go down silently. In addition there are redundant (secondary hydraulic) systems in place to insure that the restraints don't release while the ride is in motion. Not to mention that the RCS won't allow the train to be dispatched if it senses that any of the restraints are not fully locked. Actual restraint failure is extremely uncommon, almost to the point of impossible.

2. She is incorrect about where the accident happened. It wasn't on the drop, it was at the overbanked turn after the double-down maneuver following the first drop.

If I had to guess, and I don't mean to be offensive to anyone here, I would immediately assume that she was of a body type that makes it difficult to seat properly. Similar to the accident a few years back on another coaster, if a restraint is closed and is only resting on a person's stomach, there is a real risk of the person's stomach popping out over the restraint during times of negative g's. This leaves the restraint loose around their mid-section until it is either pushed down by the rider or by positive g's later in the ride.

My instinct tells me that this rider's body became loose in the restraints during the double-down maneuver, and was ejected seconds later as the train went into the overbanked turn.

Time will tell....
Very sad thing, though.
Click to expand...
So to simplify, the fat roll slid from under the restraint to over top of the restraint. This leaving a gap between lower body and the restraint large enough for the individual to slip out on the next negative g opportunity.

Another thought. If hydraulic restraint, was the pressure reducing valve properly set for large people? If the person is large enough and g load high enough, the resultant force could be enough to overcome the prv.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom