State orders several fair rides shut down
Ohio Department of Agriculture Director Dorothy Pelanda closed five rides on the second day of the Ohio State Fair.
Five Ohio State Fair rides were prevented from operating — one for the length of the fair, Ohio Department of Agriculture Director Dorothy Pelanda announced Thursday.
Two weeks ago as she showed off a newly refurbished chairlift ride at the State Fairgrounds, Pelanda warned she will shut down any amusement ride if state inspectors can’t verify the condition of critical internal parts not visible to them.
She shut down permanently the Kissell’s Military Base ride because it showed “visible corrosion.” Four other rides could be open after minor repairs are completed, she said. The fair opened Wednesday, and the rides never were open to visitors.
Interior corrosion caused the 72-foot-tall, 54-ton Fire Ball ride to break apart at the Ohio State Fair in July 2017, immediately killing Tyler Jarrell, 18, who was thrown from a gondola. Six others were injured. One of them, Jennifer Lambert, 19, died in September 2018 after having suffered major brain damage.
The ride’s manufacturer determined that “excessive corrosion on the interior of the gondola support beam dangerously reduced the beam’s wall thickness over the years (which) ... finally led to the catastrophic failure of the ride during operation.”
After the fatal collapse, then-Gov. John Kasich pledged that Ohio would learn from the tragedy and would share those lessons to better protect the public. But it wasn’t until Gov. Mike DeWine took office in January and appointed Pelanda that the state moved to make substantial changes in the ride-inspection program.
Other changes introduced this year include reclassifying all rides to identify those needing more-comprehensive testing, taking into account hidden components integral to the safety of the ride, and requiring operators to respond in writing within 14 days that any problems identified by inspectors have been fixed.
Funding for ride inspection was increased in the belated two-year state operating budget enacted last week. Lawmakers approved, and Gov. Mike DeWine signed, a 27% increase to $1.82 million for this fiscal year and a 6% increase to $1.94 million the following year. Money came from an increase in ride inspection fees, including a $75 increase to $225 on most rides.
Also, the SkyGlider got nearly 100 new chairs and was fitted this spring with a new braking system for the first time since it was installed in 1969, keeping its cable from rolling when it’s brought to a stop — a feature that officials didn’t deem critical for the last 50 years. It has also been fitted with new permanent fencing that keeps vehicles from hitting the chairs when they descend to ground level at either end of the ride.