SD 2000 looses wheels and derails 2 injured

Japans tallest coaster looses its wheels and derails, 1 injured on ride the other hurt by flying wheel. I have submitted to news also.

http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=1&id=270423

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Army Rangers lead the way

That's a nasty scenario... They say that the ride is inspected thoroughly, but with an accident like this, one would have to wonder. I guess we'll have to wait and see what they come up with...

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Never Has Gravity Been So Uplifting.

taer it down!!111! ;)

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The Trip: CP, SFWoA, PKI, KW, HW, IB, SFGAm, MiA and LeSourdsville too.
8 Days- 10 parks. May 2003

I guarantee you they are inspecting it on a more than regular basis. The Japanese are nuts about that sort of thing. However, you can't stop a mechanism or part from failing (a wheel coming apart) simply because you look at it, or replace it. Many times, a new part is faulty to begin with, and it's simply a matter of time before it disintegrates. This sounds to me to be the case. Still, I wasn't there....

This sounds like it happened after the big pretzel turnaround, heading into the block brakes before the 8 bunnies. That is the only place that is that low to the ground, only going that speed, and at the right angle to shoot a wheel over into the pools. Sheesh! Bad stuff here.... Let's hope for the best.
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Rob - Jerk/Loser - Standing up for the unfunny and unattractive. - Click here for details
*** This post was edited by nasai 8/23/2003 1:14:00 PM ***

Out of curiousity, why are the wheels made out of iron? Or is that some sort of typo? If that is the case, seems like an odd material to make the wheels out of.

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Mike Anderson
*** This post was edited by MAnderson 8/23/2003 1:11:53 PM ***

They Said it was the tallest coaster in the world! Ha! That's a good one!

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I Hate Little Kids

It is... haven't you heard? TTD isn't a coaster.
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Rob - Jerk/Loser - Standing up for the unfunny and unattractive. - Click here for details

I wonder if Morgan Manufacturing will have anything to say about this...

I would imagine so, although they can't necessarily be responsible for a parks' maintenance. I guess we'll see if there are any lawsuits.
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Rob - Jerk/Loser - Standing up for the unfunny and unattractive. - Click here for details

SilverStar said:
They Said it was the tallest coaster in the world! Ha! That's a good one!

umm...

The ride is registered in the Guinness Book of World Records as the "tallest out-and-back roller coaster." It also has the longest track at about 2,400 meters, according to Nagashima Kanko Kaihatsu.

They clearly said, "tallest out and back"; just clarifying.

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"I don't need a compass to tell me which way the wind shines."
-Mr. Furious

Well, if you think about it, wouldn't Dragster be an "out and back" too? ;)

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Never Has Gravity Been So Uplifting.

*** This post was edited by BullGuy 8/23/2003 2:04:22 PM ***

Hell, doesn't every coaster go out and come back?

(sorry that was bad, even for me!;))

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You suck big time.

Only 1 hour a day is spent on maintenance & inspection of this beast? even SF does a better,more thorough job of inspecting/maintaining their coasters every day before opening them.

SF spends as much as 4 hours per coaster going through the inspection/maintenance/testing procedures before opening to the public,as for SD2K's fabricator (Morgan manufacturing) they will most certainly get wind of it because they designed & built every single component including the wheels of SD2K's trains.

I believe that the US has very high standards for inspecting coasters. And I don't think we will see ths happening in the US!

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http://coastertrackrecord.tripod.com/

That is a nasty accident, and one which should not have happened!

What can cause the loss of MULTIPLE wheels? Even if a car loses all its front left (or right) wheels, it shouldnt derail. It must have been a broken axle, but there should be back-up safety device for this case.

I am absolutely shocked and depressed by this accident. I just hope that the press is not jumping on it, since it is in Japan. But I think we will hear from it all its goriness.

Its a miracle that only one person in the full train was injured , and tragically ironic, that a person so far away from the ride was hit by a wheel...

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Floorless in Gaza

Umm..it did happen. On the inspiration for SD2K, Mamba, actually. Many times. (At least that's what I read on the internet, so it has to be true).

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Be polite and ignore the idiots. - rollergator
"It's not a Toomer" - Arnold Schwartzenkoph
"Those who know don't talk and those who talk don't know." -Jeff

Somebody got a back injury just from a block brake stop?

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"No, it offends me as a comedian."

What is more amazing to me is that some of you actually think that we here in the states have a higher standard for our inspections? Ludicrous. If you were to pick one country in the world where our standards (OSHA, whatever) were laughed at more, it would be Japan. They are the masters at over-inspection. This is an accident. Not something that happened due to neglect or poor maintenance factors.

Just ask those poor souls of Alaska Flight 209. At least coasters don't have jack screws.
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Rob - Jerk/Loser - Standing up for the unfunny and unattractive. - Click here for details

I heard on T.V., MAnderson, that the wheels are made of iron because the friction from the track heating up polyurethane wheels would melt the wheels. The wheels are also extra big because the revolutions would be too great and heat up the wheel too fast.

I believe this is the reason, I saw the show a while ago so I might be a little off

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I am one.
I am Turbo.
Top Thrill in the front row... anything else is lame

Considering that Morgan Manfacturing no longer exists, not much. I don't know how much liability Chance-Morgan assumed when the firm was formed. I do know that they supply parts, but I don't know if they are responsible for possible design flaws.