Inspectors Uncover Problems With Fair Rides

Tuesday, October 16th 2007, 3:52 pm

By: News On 6

The reports are out from a state investigation into accidents on rides at the Tulsa State Fair. There were eight injury accidents this year, two children were sent to hospitals and several more had less serious injuries, like bloody noses and bruises. The News On 6â€™s Emory Bryan reports a review of the state records uncovered plenty of problems with rides at the fair. Most of them were mechanical issues. Many of the issues should have been spotted by the people operating the rides.

In fact, the common theme in most of the stateâ€™s reports is the human element: ride operators making mistakes that put children at risk.

Only one ride at the fair had two separate injury accidents that was the 1976 model â€œZyclonâ€ roller coaster. State inspectors have recommend that it not be operated again, unless it's retrofitted with modern, automatic safety equipment to prevent the kind of accidents that led to injuries at the Tulsa State Fair.

In two reports on the â€œZyclonâ€ accidents, inspectors found many common factors and a single cause. Both involved cars running into each other. Two children were taken to the hospital with minor injuries. Inspectors found no mechanical problems with the ride and blamed both accidents on operator error.

After the second accident at the Tulsa State Fair, the â€œZyclonâ€ was shut down for the remainder of the fair.

The state inspectors looked over every ride at the fair, many of them several times, and found mostly routine mechanical issues that were quickly repaired. Inspectors also found problems with inattentive and careless operators.

On the â€œSpace Odyssey 2000â€, inspectors say the operator was reading a book while the ride was in motion and not watching the ride. Another time, the operator left the ride unattended while running. Meanwhile, on the â€œStar Commanderâ€, inspectors say the operator was sending text messages instead of watching the ride.

On the â€œHimalayaâ€, inspectors say they saw the operator loading riders while it was in motion. And, on the â€œDouble Shockâ€, inspectors reported the operator was riding the passenger tubs up to 8' in air, then dropping them to the ground.

These unsafe practices did not cause any injuries and were stopped by inspectors before the operators could continue working.

For reports on maintenance issues with fair rides, click here.

For problems inspectors spotted during surveillance of the rides, click here.

To read the first accident report, click here.

To read the second accident report click here.

Watch the video: The Investigation Concludes Into Fair Accidents