Women dies after riding Perilous Plunge at Knott's

Yes, I have the stats.  This year has not been especially bad overall.  However the media has been making front page news out of trains stuck on lifts with no personal injury at all.

There has also been a random cluster of deaths that have occurred on rides in California due to preexisting conditions.  In these cases, the ride was not the primary cause of death, though it may have been the immediate trigger.  The ride was simply the activity that the person was participating in at a time when the next stressful activity of any sort was going to trigger the person's death.  This has been backed up by the coroner's reports in these cases.

This unfortuante accident was only the second accidental death that has occurred on an amusement ride this year.  The other was the fatality on a portable roller coaster in Pennsylvania.

As for the cause of this accident, I will leave that until we have some actual information about what happened.

You're all wrong it's a Ride OP oversight you'll see in due time and remember who told you, Why Me....

I don't think this lady was trying to showboat as some of you have tried to insinuate. This is a 40 year old mother who was riding PP with two of her young children. Not your typical rowdy rider. I'm not saying it is impossible, I wasn't there, but it doesn't seem all that likely.

Either way, someone died on a ride that has had constant problems from the beginning. Even if she was standing on her head doing the 2 step, this will not look good for Intamin or the park. Just very sad.
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And then Jerry said, "Take care of yourselves, and each other". *** This post was edited by DWeaver on 9/23/2001. ***

Yes, she fell out. Today on Millennium Force someone complained because they were stapled and the ride host said he had to because of problems with a similar ride  (I wonder which one!). Note that mechanics test ride MF with no lap bar, and still they don't fall out.

Millennium Force is 3 times higher and about the same decent and has never had any problems.

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Save Cheese on a stick!

Yet...  Let's hope it stays that way!
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And then Jerry said, "Take care of yourselves, and each other".

Okay, I saw the news the other day, and the reporter said that it was mainly the rider's fault. YES, she did fall out, but she was checked before the ride was moving, and she was secure. She unbucled the seatbelt and stood up about 1/4 the way down the chute (about 93 feet above the ground). Apparently to check one of her children who was riding with her. It wsa not at all the park or the builder's fault.

A reporter said it was the rider's fault and that makes it so? Where's the proof? Don't be so gullible to the media.

And unless I'm mistaken, don't the seat belts lock down as well? How did she manage to undo an eletronically locked seat belt, and push up the lap bar? It's much too early to write this off as rider error.

BTW, does anyone remember what happened when the guy was ejected from SFDL's Superman?

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And then Jerry said, "Take care of yourselves, and each other". *** This post was edited by DWeaver on 9/23/2001. ***

Why don't we all wait until something conclusive comes out before we play detective? By the way, the SFDL accident occured before the seatbelts were added to all Intamin trains. It would be hard to fall out now.

Now let me tell you the Ride Mechanics do not ride with their lap bars up and never have since DAY ONE.... If that would be the case they and also the Employee that sent the train with their lap bars up. ...... Number 1  Cedar Point has is looking out for all of there Guest Safety because of this thier has never been an accident at Cedar Point that has injured a Guest. Also The reason that Lap bars at Millennium force where Checked and made sure that they where properly in was because their have been Guest attempting to ride without Seatbelts and with their Harness up. The Knott's incident doesn't have much to do with that.... It is Cedar Point and their Employees way of looking out for everyone's Safety......If it would have been me i would of said Glad to know that you are looking out for my safety.....

Also For those that like to blame operator Error.... I know from Experienance that the Operatorsdo check each and every person's seatbelt and Lapbar... and if there is something wrong that Guest would be removed and loaded into the next train.... Also that seat would be flagged off so that it could be fixed.... *** This post was edited by Superdave on 9/24/2001. ***

It is very sad that this happened and it's best not to assume what has happened!  I hope this does not lead to OTSHs on PP.
*** This post was edited by OLD CROW on 9/24/2001. ***

Superdave, Mechanics do ride with their lap bars up and so did the employees a bit (like dick ;)). Its not that big of a deal to ride with no lap bar because of the seatbelt. It just insure's our safety in case thier was faluire of the lap bar.

Speaking of which one time for last ride of the Millennium Force the mechanic jumped in. When the ride finished while waiting on the readies to be advanced he jumped out. The host started to yell at him until she found out it was a mechanic. :)

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Save Cheese on a stick!

*** This post was edited by Joe E. on 9/24/2001. *** *** This post was edited by Joe E. on 9/25/2001. ***

"Why don't we all wait until something conclusive comes out before we play detective? By the way, the SDL accident occured before the seatbelts were added to all Intamin trains. It would be hard to fall out now".

Ah, something conclusive... Like what we got from the SNE Superman incident? I'm still not sure what happened there. Nor do I remember exactly why that little boy fell from Drop Zone. Unfortunatly, sometimes all we're left with is speculation. I think this ride may be in serious trouble, regardless of what happened.

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And then Jerry said, "Take care of yourselves, and each other". *** This post was edited by DWeaver on 9/24/2001. ***

May I suggest that Knott's picked out a bad name for this ride? Peril n.-Exposure to harm or injury; risk; jeopardy

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Batwing-Bow Down

I know, I wonder if they'll change the name. I also can't help but wonder if we're looking at a ride with a drop not quite as steep next year? Or a trap door which stops the train before the drop? I know it's too early to know, but California is notorious for over modifying rides after accidents whether it turns out to be the ride's fault or not. That's why I feel this is a no win situation for Knott's.
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And then Jerry said, "Take care of yourselves, and each other". *** This post was edited by DWeaver on 9/24/2001. ***

Uhm you really don't think do you? You can't 'un-steepen' a ride's track. And no they won't change the name. The ride is meant to give you a sense of peril unlike most other water rides. Hence, Perilous Plunge. And all amusement park rides, are meant to simulate danger, not actually do it. And this was an accident, not something the ride was supposed to do. Dweaver, it seems like you are an anti-plunge person. Don't take out your anger and misunderstanding on this ride. And NO, seatbelts are not electronically controlled. Were you actually serious when you asked that question? Because I can bet a lot of people rolled their eyes at that. Think about it. Is your car seat belt mechanically operated? No, you can take your fingers and un-click them. Like all roller coaster additional safety belts. The thing is that the majority of the public is smart enough to know not to unbuckle it at all. Rider error.

Kraxleridah, no need to insult, I have my opinions just like you do. And although I don't feel the ride is all that great, I don't have anything against it. I could make that same arguement and say you'll defend *anything* located in California no matter what, not to mention you are incorrect, drops have been modified to be less steep. Two examples come immediately to mind, SFMM's Colossus and PGA's Demon. So don't take out your anger at me just because I question everything, whether it's located in my home state or not. I'm not stating fact, I'm giving my opinions so get off my back.

I have ridden PP and remember vividly having a hard time undoing the seatbelt until the ride came to a stop, much like V2's belt latch which absolutely *does* lock eletronically while the ride is in motion. It's a moot point anyway; the article clearly states that the lap bar *and* seat belt were still *locked* when the ride returned to the station. What did she do, put the seatbelt back in the lock position on her way out? Please.

In any event, I'm not about to get in a flame war with you while this poor woman's family must mourn her death.
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And then Jerry said, "Take care of yourselves, and each other".

*** This post was edited by DWeaver on 9/24/2001. ***

*** This post was edited by DWeaver on 9/24/2001. *** *** This post was edited by DWeaver on 9/24/2001. ***

Yanno... it seems like no one here can deal with the fact that these things do indeed happen and wow..a park or operator MIGHT have a role in it..restraint bars have indeed FAILED in the past and will likely fail again in the future!

It is insulting to the deceased to immeadiately accuse her of creating her death.. can anyone here wait for reports before you pass your judgement? Can anyone here have some respect for the recently departed?

Her death was a horrible one! Falling to your death and the blunt force of impact is one of the worst ways to die! Please show some respect for her family!

May she rest in peace. May her family have peace and healing in their time of need.

BB... speculation is the name of the game here!! If we couldn't speculate, assume, or guess what happened, what would we post about in this news story? That "our thoughts and prayers go out to her family"? Oh please. That's so dull, meaningless, and such a cliche now. For most of the deaths that have been happening on the rides this year, they have been found related to the rider and less so the ride or the ride-op.

It was really the accidents where the riders got injured that it was found to be a ride malfunction (see Superman at SFNE & Chaos at Michigans Adventure)... even more rare are ride-op errors.

Some of the accidents have been the naivity of the rider where they try to be more daring and ignore the safety use of the restraints. This can and has led to accidents in the past, present, and will in the future.

Some accidents have been related to the size and shape of the rider. Larger riders can actually create a hazard for themselves, thus, ride-ops will not allow them to ride specific coasters because of safety reasons. The rides weren't created with the severly obese in mind.

Some accidents are also related to pre-existing conditions. Sure, they may or may not have been known prior to the fatal accident on the coaster, but fact is... you cannot put blame on the coaster. There are signs warning of this risk.

I don't mean to sound insensitive, but I have no sympathy for this lady until the full report does come out on what she was doing wrong, or what went wrong with the ride. From these initial reports, the ride functioned just fine... so yet again, I am speculating to blame the rider and therefore, she doesn't get any of my sympathy.

Just a warning that trading insults is a Really Bad Idea.

I think the big key here is that in order for someone to fall out through no fault of their own, there has to be a double failure with the belt and lap bar. What are the odds of that? I'm guessing not very good, but I guess we'll have to wait and see.

And Dawg... I think a little more sensitivity would be in line here. Someone did die, and that's never a good thing regardless of who is at fault.

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