Posted | Contributed by Chitown
Fox News Chicago reported an accident at Six Flags Great America. The accident occured on Wednesday, July 18 involving to girls on the Cajun Cliffhanger, a Rotor ride that spins while the floor drops, pinning riders to the wall. Apparently the ride wasn't spinning fast enough when the floor dropped, causing the two individuals to fall to the floor. The ride op was told that something was wrong so the operator raised the floor causing the individuals feet to get caught between the wall and the floor. One of the girls was flown to childrens hospital in Milwaukee with the possibility of her toes being amputated. Gurnee police and fire officials said an investigation would continue as to the cause of the accident. The FOX News crew tried to get an explanation from park management about the accident but were denied answers pending the investigation.
If it is a Chance Rotor I seem to recall that there is an interlock on them to prevent the floor from dropping untill the barrel has reached and maintained the optimum speed.(At least on the later production models.) The old Mack Rotors the functions were totally under the operator's control.There maybe more to this than meets the eye.
THIS SOUNDS LIKE A CASE OF "OPERATOR ERROR" LETS HOPE THAT IF THATS THE CASE, IT DOESNT RESULT IN A REMOVAL OF THE RIDE, OR FORCE SIX FLAGS OHIO TO RECONSIDER BRINGING THEIR ROTOR BACK.
I ALSO HEARD THAT "GREAT AMERICA" HAS REMOVED THEIR HAYBALER RIDE. ITS A SHAME, THEY HAVE SUCH A NICE SELECTION OF FLAT RIDES. 8-(
Hard to say. There is not enough information in the article to pinpoint exactly what was the cause of the incident. "Blame it on the operator" is an all too common response to such things. I have my suspecions about what happened, but we won't know untill the inspectors get through with it.
I seem to remember another Rotor accident a couple of years ago with the same kind of injuries.
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Brett_W
I have seen people work their way down to the floor intentionally after the floor had dropped. Considering the size of the gap between the barrel and the floor this act can be hazardous.
This is precicely why I don't get on this type of ride. Well, this and a nasty little incident I won't go into here. We have a simmilar ride at the SF near here, and as I recall, the gap between the floor and wall isn't all that large, though the last time I rode it, it failed to keep me properly pinned as well.
