Dragster shut down after riders injured by debris

TTD is probably the most complex coaster ever built. Just like aircraft, unforseen problems occur. The component that caused the problem will probably be torn apart, analyzed, re-engineered, and hopefully the same problem won't happen again.

If there was as much hysteria after plane accidents as there has been on this board, jets would have been grounded forever and we wouldn't be flying now.

I think TTD will be closed for awhile, but they will figure it out and fix it.

You're right. After a plane crash, people just shrug and say, "Hey, how 'bout that Dilbert strip?"

I suppose that's why I could fly round trip to DC for $60 after 9/11....tragic fatal incidents are no big deal. Am I dead yet? No? Whatever. Pffft.

-'Playa

While I do technically agree with what you're saying 'Playa - 9/11 is poor example.

If a plane crashed this afternoon would airline ticket prices plummet? No.

The 9/11 situation wasn't a freak accident, it was a deliberate sabotage that was like nothing we'd ever seen.

Comparing the TTD incident to a plane crash in the first place is so far absurd that I can't find the word to describe it, but since we are:

The TTD thing yesterday was like a private plane going down yesterday due to a piece manufactured incorrectly. Nothing about the airline industry would change today except a required grounding and subsequent change of the part on that plane model.

...and that's exactly what's going to happen here.

*** This post was edited by Lord Gonchar 7/14/2004 2:30:29 PM ***

micrip, CoastaPlaya.

Do you really think a plane crashes and they just go on about their business the next day? There are long investigations into why the crash happened and things are done to prevent the same thing from happening again, if its preventable.

CoastaPlaya, baseically what I get out of your statement is that after 9/11 they did nothing to change the way plane travel was handled. Did I read that right?
*** This post was edited by eightdotthree 7/14/2004 2:10:55 PM ***

I think he was saying just the opposite, eightdotthree.

Now that we've compared the TTD incident to a passenger jet incident, can we compare it to a passenger train wreck next? After all, they are very similar, aren't they? Both have rails. Both carry people. Both have problems.

Was it sarcasm? walks away slowly...

Not to interupt the terrible analogies and the possibility of them getting even worse, but does anyone think that any type of a press release will be made by Cedar Point aside from the "Meanwhile, Cedar Point officials said the park has an overall good safety record" comment from the news article? Or not to make the previous question sound like a "crystal ball" type of inquiry, but does anyone think that CP SHOULD make a statement? If the news has blown this whole incident way out of proportion (which I am still not sure about, since I was not there), you would think that they would want to clarify things up a bit for the GP.

Also, if this is going to take a while, I would think that their web page should also be updated with the status report like they had last year.

Those are really lame comparisons.

This is a coaster board. No we dont discuss plane crashes. You want to see plane crashes being disussed, go to an aviation board.

How much you want to bet...if you go to an avaiation board, and there will not be a mention of TTD. They don't care.

AS far as media. CP has always loved the media, and bragging about having the most, biggest, fastest. That's a great thing, but when things go bad, the media is right there, as you are the best known. That's just the way it !

I didn't compare a TTD accident to an plane crash, micrip did.
I simply said an airplane tragedy is always a tragedy and people always respond to it.

Media hype? Not a big deal? Gimme a break. I'm not supposed to get hit with flying parts when I ride a coaster! I don't care how small they are, I don't care who's fault it is. No touching me. Period.

Of course there's gonna be news coverage. Are you kidding? It's an anomaly--and a major one. And interviewees have as much right to their opinions as an enthusiass, fanboy or theme park detractor. Free country, folks. Get over it.

-'Playa

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Not a big deal? Gimme a break. I'm not supposed to get hit with flying parts when I ride a coaster!

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Exactly right. As I stated somwhere in the above mess... had it happened at another park, most who are saying "not a big deal" would be turning it into a big deal.

Certain parks are viewed as near "perfect" and have no problems. When a major problem is encountered (such as "flying parts" from a coaster), it is seen as no big deal... move along... nothing to see here folks.

Get off it SLFAKE, you don't like Cedar Point, fine, but I still fail to see how this is comparable to much worse accidents at any other park. No one died, no one even went to the hospital after the incident! They waited until the cameras got there then were miraculously (sp?) unable to complete their days and were greviously injured. Give me a break.

Honestly, the thing that bothers me (now granted I haven't read any of the actual stories or seen the news reports) is no one's yet been able to prove these "shavings" came from the cable and weren't from someone on the midway throwing something in the path of the train, or even an errant bird dropping nesting materials which the people hit at 120 mph. Now if the proof is in there somewhere, please correct me, but as far as what's been presented here so far, I've yet to see proof it was from the ride, just everyone figured (seemingly based on the previous track record of the ride, disproving SLFAKE's fanboy conspiracy theory) it came from the cable fraying ...

This is hardly the first time someone has been injured at Cedar Point. Not even close to being the worst either. Anyone remember Snake River Falls when it opened (design issue)? Or the man who severely injured his hand when he stuck it outside of a Mean Streak vehicle while it was pulling into the station (rider error) circa 1992? What about recent incidents with the White Water Landing boats running into each other and the Corkscrew chain issue - which both caused very minor injuries? Where was the outrage then? All of the incidents were covered in the news. All were handled in a reasonable manner by the media - and the Snake River Falls and Mean Streak events resulted in injuries more severe than what happened on Monday night at Dragster.

This is the first time that I can remember, however, that at least 3 television stations found it necessary to have live reports from the park lead their 6 p.m. newscasts. I'm not saying this should just be ignored. But there's hardly a need to "stop the presses." Again, this has more to do with what ride it is than it does with what the incident was. It also is reflective of the way the news industry works in this day and age. I blame 19 Action News. :)

There's a difference between news coverage - which is to be expected - and what happened yesterday.

*** This post was edited by Gemini 7/14/2004 3:05:13 PM ***

I'm glad that the people are okay (esp. the way this year's been). And while I do think it is a big deal, I think the media/etc. may be dramatizing it a bit. I wasn't there, but one of my employees just told me about "the wheel snapping" on the Gemini train over the weekend, stopping it suddently, and the rider "in the front had to have 14 stitches". With all the news about TTD, this is the first I heard of the Gemini incident.
Anyway, hopefully TTD will be up again soon, but if it's not, I'll be okay.

Now hang on just a sec here, 'cause I'm confused. When a cable frays and pieces fly off, or a cable snaps and flies around *willy-nilly* on the grounds of the park, am I really supposed to ignore it as "no big deal" by the fact that no one WAS seriously injured. Some people COULD have been seriously injured when that happens....and when kids throwing rocks at SFWoA's Villain were a *known problem*, then the park is supposed to take action to PREVENT injuries that did NOT result from the "normal operation of THEIR ride".

Bottom line for me is that the launch cable is a KNOWN commodity of the ride, and an integral part of the ride...do I want the ride to be closed when I get to CP later this year? Obviously not! But if the ride is not ready to operate SAFELY, then I don't want CP to *risk it* because no one WAS hurt this time...

Hey, I have nothing against Cedar Point. I will admit that I have never been there... but I have been to a Cedar Fair park (Dorney). Will I go to Cedar point? Someday. Same with Gueaga (sp?) Lake and Michigan's Adventure.

Now I have been to a few Six Flags parks. Do I like them? No. Am I in a hurry to go back? No. Based on my experience with CF (Dorney), I have nothing against the chain. Just never got to CP because I haven't found myself in that area. So I am neither a CP/CF "Hater" or SF "Fan Boy".

My "conspiracy" theory is not with CP or CF, but rather those who are finding every excuse in the book to gloss over this. Talk about Conspiracy theories... reports stated that it was metal shavings, and now some are suggesting that "no one's yet been able to prove these "shavings" came from the cable and weren't from someone on the midway throwing something in the path of the train, or even an errant bird dropping nesting materials which the people hit at 120 mph."

As I said, the arguments seem to be... "Definately not Rider Error... Definately not Operator Error... probably not Maintenance problem... and it surely can't be a problem with this ride... What could it be... Bird Droppings?"

Face it... its an untried and unproved system (at least at this grand 400+ft scale). When you come right down to it, the most obvious explanation is often the most correct. At this point no one knows what the "most obvious" explanation is, but it's a pretty good bet that the ride is doing something that it is not supposed to be doing and it showered people with metal shavings... and probably not dive-bombing pigeons.

*** This post was edited by SLFAKE 7/14/2004 3:43:22 PM ***

I'm still not overly convinced about the ride being the reason for the focus. I'm inclined to believe that the media has such a need for an edge that they cling onto anything and everything they can possibly turn into news. Here in Cincinnati, we've had several occasions where the lead story is something to the effect of "Dozens of rides stranded on Son of Beast" while the field reporter constantly expresses his/her sympathy for the people involved and their traumatic experience. All the while, a minor malfunction was to blame and the train simply stopped at the 40 foot level on the lift. We also have the Tri-State Connection where they link can link almost any story to the area by finding someone's sister's uncle's brother and asking them to pour their heart out to the community. I'm sure it's not much different anywhere else.

I used to work at Cedar Point and I know that they document everything and keep their mouths closed. So I think that the fact this was on the news meant that someone was at the right place at the right time. People in Sandusky (used to at least) have the ability to monitor CP's radio channels, and anytime a certain signal gets called, people are all over it. *** This post was edited by JamesB 7/14/2004 3:43:10 PM ***

All of you people who think TTD is becoming a money pit need to think a little harder.

You don't realize all the money TTD has brough into CP. Not only in admission, but food, lodging and all the other shops. When it was broken early 2003 they had to get signs stating the status of the ride and updated their webstie daily for it. There is HUGE public demand for this ride. You can't look at it as costing them

Cedar Point will not modify this ride either. That is just common sense.

I also completly agree with impulsives last post.

When a cable snaps it doesn't shatter like throwing a rock at glass. It freys out into little tiny strings that are still connected to the cable.

Also from what people are saying about the news interviews with the "injured" they had to zoom in to see the cuts and they were back into the park riding the rides after there visit to first aid which I'm sure was required by the park. It seems they are making a bigger deal of this than what it really is.

Also I could see why someone may go to the hospital to get everything checked out. You never know if in fact it was metal there could be rust and that isn't good.

And they are make it a bigger deal because it is the World's Tallest and Fastest roller coaster in the world.

Those are my thoughts on this whole ordeal.

*** This post was edited by coasterguy258 7/14/2004 3:43:23 PM ****** This post was edited by coasterguy258 7/14/2004 3:46:16 PM ***

Sure the cable has broke before, but it has never hurt anyone, nor given anyone in a position of authority to believeit would. It was an inconvenience as far as ride operations go.

The people yesterday got cuts. As unfortunate as that may be, I've done more damage to myself in the kitchen cutting onions with a sharp knife.

Everyone seems to say "would've" or "could've" - it simply doesn't matter because it didn't happen.

Add up the parts. Known operational issue turns potentially dangerous to riders. The park closes the ride until they can solve the issue (both of potential safety and of ride operation)

What's the problem?

Oh yeah, that boo-boo thing. ;)

Did the frightened majority cry foul and sue CP for letting them ride the deathtrap we know as MF for 4 years? There was an incident where a man died on a similarly manufactured ride and the manufacturer realized there was a problem and changes were made.

Sure someone "could've" fallen off MF in the same way, but would it ever really have happened? Who knows? The 'problem' on MF got fixed and most people complained that the ride was perfectly safe and now there's a chance they may not be able to ride. The complete opposite of the hysteria that seems to surround this incident.

I think I'm missing the big issue here or something. Where is the issue? CP closed the ride, the second it became known that there was a safety threat. No one was hurt beyond band-aid repair. Changes will be made and we'll all be safely enjoying TTD again in due time.

Exactly...