Woman dies in accident at Six Flags New Orleans

She claims the ride op started the ride without checking or anything, however she was not even there. She is making this assumption and does not really know for sure. So I wouldn't say it's just the rideop's fault yet.

The big question is going to be if the woman entered the area, going over the rail or whatever, after the rideop checked everything.

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com - Sillynonsense.com
DELETED! What time does the water show start?

Or possibly entering the ride from the entrance which is chained off when the ride operator goes around to check. I believe the exit has a mag-lock on that ride though I'd have to check it out to be sure.

This really puts a damper on the great season that SFNO was having.

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"Here's my ten cence, my two cence is free"-Eminem

I've noticed side view mirrors have been installed on two sides of the ride now.

Please, let's stop repeating that myth that all ride injuries are the riders fault. While rider conduct is the largest cause of minor injuries, fatal injuries are about evenly divided between rider conduct, mechanical failure and operator error.

There is no doubt that this was the riders fault, but I think some blame can also be placed on the park for not having proper ride observation tools.

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"Here's my ten cence, my two cence is free"-Eminem

There are several scenerios that come to my mind that could have resulted in this most unfortunate accident. I agree that it is way too soon to be drawing conclusions, but what jrhodes07 brought up is something I've personally seen a great many times. I will defer from making any final conclusions myself until the end of the inquiry.

Here are a couple more articles on the subject, one doubts SF training process and the other from a safety consultant saying ride operator should have know she was there.

http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/index.ssf?/base/news-0/105799111374570.xml

http://www.theneworleanschannel.com/news/2327904/detail.html

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Army Rangers lead the way

Sorry, but I don't see anything in any of the news articles I have read that definitively pins this accident on the victim.

The most obvious conclusion one can draw is that the operator messed up. But the truth is, we don't have any evidence of that, either!

How are riders secured on that ride? How many operators are there?

I can think of both operational and design details which could easily be contributing causes here.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

While newspaper articles often misquote people, I find that Mr. Martin's apparent statements as quoted are rather irresponsible unless he has a lot of very solid non-public knowledge of the specifics of this accident. Nothing I have heard so far provides enough detail to draw Martin's conclusions.

As someone who deals with heavy construction machinery on a regular basis, I don't consider operating an amusement ride to be equivalent to operating heavy construction machinery. Amusement rides are operated in very limited manners. The total number of choices available to ride operators is quite limited. Just look at the few buttons on the control panel, and you will see that ride operators selections are pretty limited.

In contrast, a crane operator must make many decisions with regard to the setup and installation of the crane. He has to find solid ground, level the crane, verify the weight of the load, determine the distance from the crane to the load at the greatest extension, verify that the load is acceptable at that extension, assemble the boom, rig the boom, check the rigging for safety, check for overhead obstructions especially powerlines, control the exact speed and direction of motion at all times, examine the site so he will understand the problems and limits on the lift, and coordinate with the rigger who is often out of site communicating by radio. In essence the crane operator is performing many decisions that are done by the design engineers and the maintenance department on an amusement.

The big wild card for ride operators that they have to deal with the general public much more than operators of construction equipment. One way or another that seems to be where the problem arose in this accident. The ride operater/public interface failed whether it was the operators fault, the victem's fault, or a combination.

Note: The above post is from Jim Fisher. Something messed up and didn't put my name on it. That also means that I can't even delete it and repost with my name.

I would like to add that design could also be a factor if visibility was limited such that the operator could not see a last minute change in the victim's location.

*** This post was edited by Jim Fisher 7/13/2003 8:25:38 PM ***