North Carolina amusement park adds extra inspections after roller coaster tear
RALEIGH, NC (AP) — A North Carolina amusement park that was under investigation this week after a video surfaced online of park visitors riding a roller coaster with a large crack in the support column has announced plans to repair the ride and says the new will implement inspection procedures.
Video footage of the Charlotte-based Carowinds’ popular Fury 325, known as a “giga coaster” for its dramatic 300-foot height, showed a major support beam flexing with the top visibly detached as cars loaded with unsuspecting passengers raced past at speeds up to 95 mph (150 km/h).
Carowinds, which straddles the border between North Carolina and South Carolina, said its maintenance team and ride manufacturer, Switzerland-based Bolliger & Mabillard, determined this week that a fracture had developed along a weld line in a of the steel support columns. It plans to remove and replace the column and expects a new one – designed by the same manufacturer – to be delivered to the park next week.
Park staff had closed Fury 325 late last week after a visitor pointed out the sizable crack. Investigators from the North Carolina Department of Labor were on site Monday morning while the park’s other attractions remained open. The department has not yet released the findings of its investigation.
After Carowinds installs the new column, it plans to conduct accelerometer tests, which use sensors to measure a structure’s vibration. The parks say it will then run the ride for 500 full cycles while running various tests on the entire roller coaster. The manufacturer and an external testing agency then carry out a final inspection.
“While we regularly inspect the coaster, we plan to implement additional inspection procedures to ensure we are doing everything we can to quickly identify and address future potential issues,” the park said in a statement. The new procedures, it said, include the regular use of drones equipped with cameras to inspect hard-to-reach areas.
No date has been set for the ride’s reopening.
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Hannah Schoenbaum serves on the Corps for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a non-profit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercover issues.
