FL - Tyre Sampson, 14, dies from fall on Free Fall Drop Tower ride, ICON Park, Orlando, Mar 2022 *graphic*

[PrairieWind]

Exactly. I’m the video there’s a man yelling out Loudly and multiple times to the riders “SEATBELTS!!! SEATBELT!!!! On the left!!!”

what is odd is that there really is no actual "seat belt." So I don't know why that person is yelling that.

 

[PrairieWind]

Was he yelling at the riders or to another ride attendant? I don't know why they couldn't have stopped the ride right then.

They should have never let him ride in the first place. Even the kid seemed to know something was wrong. How could they not see that he didn't fit properly in the seat and safety restraints?

The ride should have been built with another level of restraining. The ride never should have been altered by the owner/operator. The boy should have never been allowed on the ride given his size. And no one appears to have done a final walk around safety check prior to it being started. Just sooooo many failures here.

 

[frenchmoxie]

Was he yelling at the riders or to another ride attendant? I don't know why they couldn't have stopped the ride right then.

They should have never let him ride in the first place. Even the kid seemed to know something was wrong. How could they not see that he didn't fit properly in the seat and safety restraints?

My thoughts exactly. <modsnip - not victim friendly> Shouldn’t have happened.

 

[Cryptic]

If you purchase an infant seat and alter the straps to allow a larger baby to sit in it, exceeding the manufacturer’s size and weight limits, that isn’t the fault of the manufacturer if the seat fails.

A good analogy and I think your conclusion would be held to be legally sound- in the end.

And now, the "buts".....

- Personal injury attorneys often do not base their lawsuits on what is legally sound (proving a lawsuit is frivolous is nearly impossible) . Rather, they can target "deep pockets" simply because they have deep pockets.

- The lawsuit then becomes a legalized "shake down" for cash where the Injury Attorney hopes that the target gets tired of fighting the lawsuit, then accepts a settlement offer instead of successfully defending it.

 

[Cryptic]

One theory that could be used against the manufacturer of the ride is that there was a design flaw in that the ride harness was easily modified to allow larger people to ride it

Nearly any mechanical device can be said to have design flaws that allow for easy modification to override safety features.

For example, I have seen contractors remove safety guards on saws- and still operate the saw by inserting a metal clip to keep a detent button down.

Likewise, You Tube features videos of drivers over riding very sophisticated Tesla software requiring that a driver have his hands on the steering wheel simply by taping bean bags to the steering wheel.

In the end, it would probably be impossible to design safety features that cannot be over ridden by a little olde fashioned human ingenuity.

 

[Laughing]

Nearly any mechanical device can be said to have design flaws that allow for easy modification to override safety features.

For example, I have seen contractors remove safety guards on saws- and still operate the saw by inserting a metal clip to keep a detent button down.

Likewise, You Tube features videos of drivers over riding very sophisticated Tesla software requiring that a driver have his hands on the steering wheel simply by taping bean bags to the steering wheel.

In the end, it would probably be impossible to design safety features that cannot be over ridden by a little olde fashioned human ingenuity.

Hhhmmm, as in -- make it idiot-proof and the world will produce a bigger idiot?

jmho ymmv lrr

 

[airportwoman]

Nearly any mechanical device can be said to have design flaws that allow for easy modification to override safety features.

For example, I have seen contractors remove safety guards on saws- and still operate the saw by inserting a metal clip to keep a detent button down.

Likewise, You Tube features videos of drivers over riding very sophisticated Tesla software requiring that a driver have his hands on the steering wheel simply by taping bean bags to the steering wheel.

In the end, it would probably be impossible to design safety features that cannot be over ridden by a little olde fashioned human ingenuity.

That reminds me of the short-lived thing of cars that wouldn't start unless the driver's seat belt was fastened, so, you guessed it - people who didn't believe in them would fasten them over the seat, and the paramedics would show up, remove a dead or seriously injured driver, and there was the "fastened" seat belt.

 

[sds71]

Orlando Free Fall to be torn down after Tyre Sampson’s death

Orlando Free Fall, a drop tower from which 14-year-old tourist Tyre Sampson fell to his death in March, will be taken down.

www.orlandosentinel.com

 

[Dahoon]

Any ride that requires a human to check if a harness or something else has secured a person isn't secure, end of story. It is only a matter of time before something like this happens. In my opinion the only blame here is on the law that allows this IE. the law makers should be punished or no-one at all. Thinking that a teenager for almost no money could possibly do this testing with zero mistakes every single time? That is the reason someone died and now someone innocent will likely be blamed.

 

[mickey2942]

In Las Vegas the rides are clearly marked before you get in line, how tall you have to be, and the limit of weight and height for the ride.

But that really doesn't make sense. They should have a "girth" measure as well. After all, a woman who is 5'10" and weighs 175 pounds is far different than a woman who is 5'0" and weighs 175 pounds.

 

[ifindedout]

That reminds me of the short-lived thing of cars that wouldn't start unless the driver's seat belt was fastened, so, you guessed it - people who didn't believe in them would fasten them over the seat, and the paramedics would show up, remove a dead or seriously injured driver, and there was the "fastened" seat belt.

I'm a little late, but it was just before I joined here. I remember these seat belt interlocks as a boy, they were in 1974 and 1975 model cars, and then the mandate were discontinued by an act of Congress, though the warning lights and buzzers remained. The problem people had with them was that everybody in the car had to, IIRC: 1) sit down, 2) buckle the belt, and 3) turn the ignition--in that order. Of course many people didn't want to be told to wear them, period, but some people who did buckle up were accustomed to buckling up after starting the car, thus they were furious even after having supposedly done the right thing. You also had to get out of the car and restart the whole process, possibly after a certain number of seconds, I can't remember. Also, objects on the seat (purses, pets, merchandise) would upset the seat sensors. All this came in the midst of the OPEC oil crisis, so people were not only unable to find gas, they couldn't even get out of the garage if they did have any gas because of the seat belt interlock. My parents didn't have such a car, but some of my relatives did, and all of them had the feature disconnected at the wiring connectors under the seat in their cars.

 

[IceIce9]

In Las Vegas the rides are clearly marked before you get in line, how tall you have to be, and the limit of weight and height for the ride.

But that really doesn't make sense. They should have a "girth" measure as well. After all, a woman who is 5'10" and weighs 175 pounds is far different than a woman who is 5'0" and weighs 175 pounds.

At most larger amusement parks there is a test car you can sit in to see if the restraints will fit you, to determine if you can safely ride.

We frequently ride roller coasters at Cedar Point and other Cedar Fair parks, and if a guest is thought to possibly be too large, tall, or short to safely ride, the ride attendant at the beginning of the line will ask the person to sit in the test car to try the restraints. This is for their own safety.

Unfortunately the ride attendants are sometimes accused of “fat shaming” if the person is too large for the test seat and/or restraints.

 

[mpnola]

But there needs to be something adjustable! Because 2 "normal " sized people have different dimensions. I clearly got in a seat after a child sized person. I am only 5'2" and although I'm wasn't skinny, I was certainly in the average range. But the thing that comes over my head wasn't locked down. If I didn't say something, I would be dead. He went behind the seat and I could hear it turning. It then was able to be pulled down and locked.

I dont know the answer but it isn't a 1 size fits all and it isn't only let people ride if they are 5'6-5'10 and 160-180 pounds. Cause that's not realistic.

Even at Disney., I was riding thunder mountain with my son. He was very tall, so could ride at 4. But the one bar that locked over us didn't come close to him because he was 4 and I was an adult. He was terrified and he's not a scary child. I locked my arms around him and over the bar because he was right! He was flying up out of the seat in a way that didn't feel safe. I locked myself around him the best I could and he loved it. Me, not so much. I was a nervous wreck I was going to lose him. Now that I think about it, the bar might be split and individualized now. Which is much smarter.

 

[PrairieWind]

I think it is important to remember that this ride, this particular seat's safety mechanism had apparently been tampered with/modified. Normally, as I understand it, if the harness does not come down to a certain level, it doesn't lock and doesn't give a green light to the control panel. This seat had been modified to allow the green light to come on with a larger person seated there. So the company that operates the ride is very much liable for that (perhaps even criminally). However, I still don't like the design of this ride. I have ridden similar, but much small type of rides. On those, the harness comes down over your shoulders and lap and then has a buck that physically connects the harness to the seat between the rider's legs. That way, even if the harness is ill fitting, the rider still can't slide out under it. So I do think the manufacturer of the ride bears some liability as well.

 

[Erutan]

<modsnip - quoted post removed>

I'd rather be rejected for an amusement park ride than be dead.
The employees were doing their jobs.
The onus of responsibility falls mainly on the park and not the guest, though !

I think it is important to remember that this ride, this particular seat's safety mechanism had apparently been tampered with/modified. Normally, as I understand it, if the harness does not come down to a certain level, it doesn't lock and doesn't give a green light to the control panel. This seat had been modified to allow the green light to come on with a larger person seated there. So the company that operates the ride is very much liable for that (perhaps even criminally). However, I still don't like the design of this ride. I have ridden similar, but much small type of rides. On those, the harness comes down over your shoulders and lap and then has a buck that physically connects the harness to the seat between the rider's legs. That way, even if the harness is ill fitting, the rider still can't slide out under it. So I do think the manufacturer of the ride bears some liability as well.

bbm
I'm looking back in the thread here... and also elsewhere, to find a photo that seems to show the lock mechanism actually resting on or sticking outwards from the young teen's midriff.
It might be that the harness never even locked properly.
It was the park's responsibility to ensure that no one was taking that ride until locked in properly !
Just so much negligence here.
M00

Pictured: Boy, 14, who died falling from Orlando ICON theme park ride

Tyre Sampson died after slipping out of his seat on the Orlando Free Fall ride at the ICON park at around 11pm. The teenager's friend's parents watched on helplessly.

www.dailymail.co.uk

At about the 0:45 - 0:47 second spot in the video .... Try to view it full screen, or as large a possible ?
A dark, rectangular buckle/clasp is sticking out below his chest area.
Shouldn't this have been locked into place ?
My .02 -- Yes.
Smh.

 

[IceIce9]

More trouble at ICON Park

Power loss at ICON Park’s Ferris wheel leaves dozens stuck for hours on NYE - WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports | Fort Lauderdale

ORLANDO, FLA. (WSVN) - A Ferris wheel failure in Central Florida left more than 60 people stuck on New Year’s Eve.The Wheel at the ICON<a class="excerpt-read-more" href="https://wsvn.com/news/local/florida/power-loss-at-icon-parks-ferris-wheel-leaves-dozens-stuck-for-hours-on-nye/">Read More</a>

wsvn.com

ORLANDO, FLA. (WSVN) - A Ferris wheel failure in Central Florida left more than 60 people stuck on New Year’s Eve.

The Wheel at the ICON Park in Orlando stopped moving with the riders on board due to a power failure at around 6:20 p.m., Saturday.

Sparks went flying from the 400-foot ride during the outage.

 

[evilwise]

I'm exceptionally tall, 6'7" and the first time I was dragged to an amusement park and challenged to ride a fairly extreme coaster first thing, it hurt my neck. Something about the way the shoulder harness latched down, the centrifugal force pressed my head over it in a way that left it unsupported. After I got off the ride, I got myself a pamphlet about ride safety and discovered that the rides have a maximum height that apparently the ride operators don't think about nearly as much as the minimum height, probably because people who don't meet the minimum height are likely to be kids who aren't responsible for themselves - and I had to be responsible for myself and think twice about riding some of the rides that were only rated for two or three inches less.

Now, if I were Shaquille O'Neal or something and obviously over 7 feet tall, it might perhaps inspire a ride operator to double check his safety chart - and a mature adult who knows they're over 7 feet tall might be expected to take some responsibility on their own. It's easier to talk about height than it is to talk about girth, but the exact same principle applies. In this case we have the unfortunate combination of ride operators being lax with their safety checking and a kid who looked like an adult, who the people around most likely assumed was responsible enough for his own safety.

While the ride may have had some questionable design decisions if subjected to the "monkey test", we wouldn't really have amusement parks or a lot of other fun things if that was the guideline we used to determine what's allowed to exist. From my perspective, the fault here rests entirely on the ride operators and I think it's a shame that it's being demolished.

 

[PrairieWind]

I'm exceptionally tall, 6'7" and the first time I was dragged to an amusement park and challenged to ride a fairly extreme coaster first thing, it hurt my neck. Something about the way the shoulder harness latched down, the centrifugal force pressed my head over it in a way that left it unsupported. After I got off the ride, I got myself a pamphlet about ride safety and discovered that the rides have a maximum height that apparently the ride operators don't think about nearly as much as the minimum height, probably because people who don't meet the minimum height are likely to be kids who aren't responsible for themselves - and I had to be responsible for myself and think twice about riding some of the rides that were only rated for two or three inches less.

Now, if I were Shaquille O'Neal or something and obviously over 7 feet tall, it might perhaps inspire a ride operator to double check his safety chart - and a mature adult who knows they're over 7 feet tall might be expected to take some responsibility on their own. It's easier to talk about height than it is to talk about girth, but the exact same principle applies. In this case we have the unfortunate combination of ride operators being lax with their safety checking and a kid who looked like an adult, who the people around most likely assumed was responsible enough for his own safety.

While the ride may have had some questionable design decisions if subjected to the "monkey test", we wouldn't really have amusement parks or a lot of other fun things if that was the guideline we used to determine what's allowed to exist. From my perspective, the fault here rests entirely on the ride operators and I think it's a shame that it's being demolished.

I agree that the fault in this tragic case lies with the ride operators. I think there are design issues, but primarily was the fault of the operator. But, since it appears that the operator/owner of the ride, did in fact modify/alter with safety systems, there really is no way any insurance company is going to insure this ride. They simply cannot ever know what the condition of the ride is. Any without insurance, the ride isn't going to operate. So it is just taking up space that another ride could occupy.

 

[want2solveit]

I watched the video and I have to say I will never be able to unsee this young boy fall from the ride and hit the ground with a heavy thud. It's one of the worst things I've ever seen in my life.

Naturally, no one will have the kindness to remove the audio. I do not think videos of this nature are anything more than snuff films, which are outlawed.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Naturally, no one will have the kindness to remove the audio

Several times I misread your quote, thought it said, "remove the video" at first. And my first instinct was, of course videos like this should be scrubbed from the Internet as far-and-wide as possible. I really believe that.