USA TODAY International Edition
Teenager was in unsafe seat before fall
‘ Mis- adjustment’ let rider fall to death on Fla. park ride
A seat on a Florida amusement park ride that a 14- year
old boy fell to his death from last month was manually adjusted and unsafe, according to an accident report released Monday.
The sensors on two of the seats on the Orlando FreeFall had been modified so it could operate while those seats had openings almost twice as large as normal, according to a report from the forensic engineering firm hired by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to investigate the cause of the accident.
That modification allowed Tyre Sampson to fall from the ride, billed as “the world’s tallest free- standing drop tower,” on March 24 while he was visiting ICON Park from his home in Missouri. The ride did not experience a mechanical or electrical failure, the report found.
“The cause of the subject accident was that Tyre Sampson was not properly secured in the seat primarily due to mis- adjustment of the harness proximity sensor,” the report said. “The mis- adjustment of the sensor allowed both safety lights to illuminate, improperly satisfying the ride’s electronic safety mechanisms allowing the ride to commence even though the ride was unsafe.”
On FreeFall, which opened in the center of Orlando’s Entertainment District late last year, 30 riders rise to the top, tilt forward and plunge nearly 400 feet at speeds reaching more than 75 mph, according to a news release from the park in January.
The average restraint opening is about 3 inches, but on the two modified seats, the gap was about 6 inches, according to the report. The gap may have expanded during the ride, and as the attraction slowed, Tyre slipped between the seat and the harness.
The safety harness on his seat was “still in a down and locked position when the ride stopped,” according to a previous report.
Trevor Arnold, an attorney for Orlando Slingshot, which owns and operates the ride, said in a statement the group followed “all protocols, procedures and safety measures provided” by the ride’s manufacturer.
“Today’s report suggests a full review of the ride’s design, safety, operation, restraint mechanisms and history – which of course we welcome,” Arnold said in a statement.
ICON Park said in a statement the company is “deeply troubled” by the preliminary findings of the state’s investigation.
The seats were adjusted “presumably to allow for larger riders,” state Rep. Geraldine Thompson said at a news conference Monday, but it’s unclear who adjusted the seats and when.
Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services Nikki Fried said the investigation is ongoing and the ride will remain closed indefinitely.
“There are many other potential contributing factors that may have played a role in the incident,” she said Monday. “While the initial phase of our investigation is complete, we are far from done uncovering all of the facts and factors at play that are needed to inform of the next steps.”