Girl falls to her death from ride at Wisconsin Christian music festival

this is really tragic my prayers go out to the girls family and everyone involved......does anyone know if this ride was put out by SkyCoasster and if so is there any kind of inspection going on to similar rides?...I work at Kennywood park and we have a SkyCoaster and i was just curious if any stoppage of operation on similar rides kinda like the superman tower of power incident?

http://www.lifest.com/2007%20Pages/activities.htm

If the picture is accurate, this does not look to be a Skycoaster attraction. To my knowledge Skycoaster only operates permanantly fixed attractions.

It's a home-brew Skycoaster knockoff built on a small tower crane.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=h_281LqaA3E

^Video of the Ride in Operation Before the death of this girl.

I'd would leave this concept to Skycoaster, especially after seeing the video. Can't help but feel bad for the family and anyone who was a witness.

*** This post was edited by GoliathKills 7/16/2007 2:34:48 AM ***

The ride is Air Glory - that is a home-brew imitation Skycoaster. There are a few differences of course, the harnesses, release mechanism, and sometimes they would let you go backwards, in other words drop feet first instead of the usual head first.

I saw the thing at a country music fest at the Kentucky Speedway, no I didn't take a ride.

Oh, and yes there ARE carnival model Skycoasters out there. I have seen them in various years at both the Ohio and Minnesota State Fairs.

I was going to say, I didn't think it was actually a Skycoaster because they're redundant and have a pretty thorough safety regimen.

Manthis truly is a tragedy. My prayers goe out to the family.

It really seems like there has been alot of strange accidents on theme park or fair rides. It's just kind of strange. Hopefully everything will get better soon.

^I was thinking the same thing. My daughter is going to be at the Ohio State Fair for two this summer.

Prayers to the family.

I was there and was in a building 100 yards away from the ride. The ride is a portable model of a sky coaster like ride. It does not go as high but after watching it the goal seemed to be to get as many people through as possible. In my opinion the amount of checks and double checks and redunant safety backups are not as common as the permadent ones at parks like SFgam. My guess is something was not hooked up correctly and when it had to go to the back up it could not hold her.*** This post was edited by Coaster_cop 7/16/2007 12:53:05 PM ***

Skycoaster does not, as far as I know, make a portable model.

Skycoaster DOES make a portable model. I believe there are two of them traveling in this country. They go to some of the larger state fairs (Minnesota, Texas, etc), and probably would not be found at a relatively small event like the one in question. That was definitely a skycoaster knock-off.

Skycoaster has an amazing safety record, due largely to an extremely strict operational and training certification program. In a conversation with the operators of one of the traveling skycoasters, it didn't seem as though they go through the same certification that the permanent models do (at least there was no site controller present). But those rides are extremely safe, with only one accident I can think of (and that was due to incorrect operation).

-Nate

I did not read the article or watch the linked video yet, but as a former site controller I can say the Skycoaster DID at least at one time have portable models. The safety measures were even stricter for the portables and there should have been a site controller present coasterdude.

As far as the knockoff goes, Ive never seen one and would really hate to speculate on their safety or what happened.

Yes, there should have been a site controller present. I was with a site controller from a Six Flags park, which is why we were even there chatting in the first place. The ops of the portable ride didn't even know what a site controller was, which really makes me wonder how that ride was even cleared to operate.

-Nate

Well if it wasn't a Skycoaster machine, then why would they know what a site controller is? The owner is entitled to create their own protocol. Whatever that might have been, it obviously wasn't adequate.

Skycoaster has an amazing safety record, due largely to an extremely strict operational and training certification program. In a conversation with the operators of one of the traveling skycoasters, it didn't seem as though they go through the same certification that the permanent models do (at least there was no site controller present). But those rides are extremely safe, with only one accident I can think of (and that was due to incorrect operation).

I dont think he was talking about the one where the accident happened, but an actual Skycoaster portable unit elsewhere.

Watched the video of this ride and knowing what I know from my training I personally would NOT ride this from the looks in the video. Just my opinion.*** This post was edited by angnjc 7/16/2007 11:25:33 PM ***

Im going to have to agree with angnjc ive worked a SkyCoaster before also and after seeing that video i wouldn't have rode that either it looked like a crane with some extra cables hooked up and a trailer you hook to the back of your car with some sort of lift hooked on to it for a platform. Definatly not SkyCoaster and definatly not a smart idea.

"Well if it wasn't a Skycoaster machine, then why would they know what a site controller is?"

I wasn't talking about the ride in question, but an actual portable Skycoaster. It was the operators of the portable Skycoaster (which happened to be at the Minnesota State Fair) who didn't know what a site controller was...and the sure as hell should have.

I am not familiar with the ride that caused this accident, nor the manufacturer of it. I'd have to agree with others, though, and say that I probably would not ride it just by looking at it.

-Nate
*** This post was edited by coasterdude318 7/17/2007 12:15:22 AM ***

My heart most definately goes out to the family. There is nothing quite as tragic as someone who loses their life needlessly in an odd accident.