FL - Tyre Sampson, 14, dies from fall on Free Fall Drop Tower ride, ICON Park, Orlando, Mar 2022 *graphic*

[Doghairrules]

@NewsGuyGreg

Ride docs show max weight of Orlando Free Fall rider should be 286 pounds. Last week 14 year old Tyre Sampson fell to his death. He was 6'5", 340lbs. There are many questions still. +ICON Park demands attraction owner to suspend operations:

Operational manual reveals max weight for Icon Park's Free Fall ride
https://twitter.com/NewsGuyGreg/status/1508568000315678720
ICON Park calls for FreeFall, SlingShot rides to suspend operations following teen’s death

https://html.scribdassets.com/8fswlfulfk9o76qe/images/1-037ebea0e7.jpg

I was able to find and watch the first part of the video where Tyre is to the left of the friends of the guy recording and one thing I noticed immediately is that his legs are so long that way more of the bottom half of his body was off the seat, like in addition to everything else, the seat wasn't deep enough for him. Just heartbreaking. And they'll likely throw that young ride operator under the bus, but I'm guessing he's not well trained and that turnover in a job like that is high. JMO

 

[Angleterre]

Wish he would have spoken up before ride started , he must have realised harness down over body wasnt fully engaged

Is it a possibility that initially it was engaged, almost by force because we can see that the shoulder area doesn’t look flush like with other riders, but if the green light was on to say the lock mechanism was engaged and the staff pulled on the harness and it was still locked in, could it have been like a cork in a champagne bottle that’s not fully 100% engaged and initially you don’t notice anything is wrong but slowly there’s a build up of pressure until it explodes? Ergo due to Tyre’s size and girth , it was a slow build up and half way through the ride up to the top and before the ride dropped , the harness came out of its locking safety mechanism because it eventually couldn’t hold any more because it was too much pressure on the locking mechanism and it exploded to the point where the safety locking mechanism disengaged ? I honestly can’t see the members of staff saying the green light was lit to say that he was buckled in, if it wasn’t because that’s electronic and more than likely there will be a computer trail of it plus I really can’t see that Tyre would not have told someone if his harness wasn’t engaged before the ride started to move . He wouldn’t have sat there and said nothing if he knew that the lock wasn’t engaged before the ride started surely ?
I think that we have to wait for all the facts first that the investigation reveals before we condem the young kids who are working on seating the customer and checking the locks and disembarking the customers as liars who didn’t do their job.
It’s exceptionally sad and the ride owners will more than likely have some culpability but I can’t fathom why Tyre would have gone on this ride when he knew throughout the whole day that he was unable to ride any of the others because of his size and yet he decided to give this one a try . Yes he was only 14 but there is also some personal responsibility too here alongside the responsibility of the ride operators and overall the owners etc
I for one will wait to see the full circumstances reported upon once a full investigation has taken place . RIP TYRE - heaven has gained another Angel far too soon x

 

[jdglove]

Yes he was only 14 but there is also some personal responsibility too here alongside the responsibility of the ride operators and overall the owners etc

NO. There is zero personal responsibility on the part of the boy!

 

[airportwoman]

TW graphic:

If you watch the video, not to be graphic, but I think part of his head might have been damaged when he fell. It looks like there is a piece of it across the fence where he lays.

I haven't seen the video, and now I DEFINITELY don't want to.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

NO. There is zero personal responsibility on the part of the boy!

I agree, the victim and his family do not hold any "personal responsibility" for this tragedy.

 

[PrairieWind]

I agree, the victim and his family do not hold any "personal responsibility" for this tragedy.

Agree. From a legal standpoint he really doesn't share any fault. He is a minor and is relying on information given to him by the ride operators that he was ok to ride. He is legally incapable of giving any kind of waiver of liability.

I haven't heard yet who actually owns the ride or who operates it (often they are not the same.) They are going to be liable. Especially the operator. This could be an equipment failure but I would doubt it. They could claim a design failure but when consider how many rode this and didnt have problems, that probably wont fly (even though I personally think there should have been a secondary restraint system). This young man was not properly secured. The boys friends apparently are saying he knew something was wrong on the way up. In the audio, the operators are asked if he was secured and the operators say yes, the light was on. That isn't good enough on a ride like this. A visual inspection has to be done, for real, not just pro forma. In that last photo, it is clear the harness is not down.

 

[gregjrichards]

‘I wish I was there to tell him I love him, that I'm sorry. For him to lose his life. So young, and I wish it was me,' Sampson told news station WESH.

'I want to know what happened to my son. I want to know why my son is in a white bag, having to get shipped back home. He walked there. Why he can't walk back? I want answers from everybody. Who all was involved in that?' Sampson added.

Tyre's family has also called for the ride to be permanently closed. His cousin, Shay Johnson, launched a petition on Monday that garnered hundreds of signatures from people visiting a memorial for the boy outside ICON Park.

'My cousin lost his life over this ride. I don't feel it's safe, and feel it should be shut down before someone else's family have to go through what we are going through,' Johnson said.

Grieving father of boy, 14, who died in fall from 430ft ICON park drop tower speaks out | Daily Mail Online

I feel so sorry for Tyre’s parents and family. They must be so angry because it is possible his death could have been prevented if the ride staff had made sure he was properly secured before starting it. I hope Tyre’s family do not have to wait long for answers and that everything possible is done to prevent another tragic death like his.

 

[gregjrichards]

“Dollywood will close a tower ride made by the same manufacturer as the Orlando FreeFall ride after a 14-year-old boy fell out of the ride in Florida and plummeted to his death.

On Thursday night, Tyre Sampson fell off of the FreeFall ride at Orlando's ICON Park - a 430-feet-tall amusement ride, according to the attraction.”

Dollywood closes tower ride made by same manufacturer as Orlando FreeFall after tragic death of teen | Daily Mail Online

I looked into who the manufacturer of both rides is and it appears to be a company called Funtime who are based in Austria. They have photos and videos of the ride on their Instagram page Login • Instagram

It will be interesting to see what happens with the ride after an investigation into Tyre’s tragic death has been completed.

 

[gitana1]

Is it possible he was too big for that ride- to the point he could not be secured safely? I wonder if there are height and weight requirements for this ride?- 6'5 and 340 pounds ----

There are weight requirements, apparently.
New records show Orlando FreeFall has weight limit as state continues to investigate teen’s death

Someone talked about how the worker might have been poorly trained and there could be an overall high turnover. Perhaps parks with dangerous rides should be more seriously staffed! This poor kid died for nothing. Just so the park can make more money by hiring young people who they can pay low wages.

 

[LadyL]

14 years old, 6'5", 340 pounds. Doesn't it seem like his size could have been an issue with this ride? Not body shaming. Just a fact. 340 pounds is significantly more than the average weight of a person.

Maybe there should be a suggested size restriction on rides.

his Dad said other rides refused him because of his size

 

[gitana1]

Is it a possibility that initially it was engaged, almost by force because we can see that the shoulder area doesn’t look flush like with other riders, but if the green light was on to say the lock mechanism was engaged and the staff pulled on the harness and it was still locked in, could it have been like a cork in a champagne bottle that’s not fully 100% engaged and initially you don’t notice anything is wrong but slowly there’s a build up of pressure until it explodes? Ergo due to Tyre’s size and girth , it was a slow build up and half way through the ride up to the top and before the ride dropped , the harness came out of its locking safety mechanism because it eventually couldn’t hold any more because it was too much pressure on the locking mechanism and it exploded to the point where the safety locking mechanism disengaged ? I honestly can’t see the members of staff saying the green light was lit to say that he was buckled in, if it wasn’t because that’s electronic and more than likely there will be a computer trail of it plus I really can’t see that Tyre would not have told someone if his harness wasn’t engaged before the ride started to move . He wouldn’t have sat there and said nothing if he knew that the lock wasn’t engaged before the ride started surely ?
I think that we have to wait for all the facts first that the investigation reveals before we condem the young kids who are working on seating the customer and checking the locks and disembarking the customers as liars who didn’t do their job.
It’s exceptionally sad and the ride owners will more than likely have some culpability but I can’t fathom why Tyre would have gone on this ride when he knew throughout the whole day that he was unable to ride any of the others because of his size and yet he decided to give this one a try . Yes he was only 14 but there is also some personal responsibility too here alongside the responsibility of the ride operators and overall the owners etc
I for one will wait to see the full circumstances reported upon once a full investigation has taken place . RIP TYRE - heaven has gained another Angel far too soon x

There is zero responsibility on the part of a 14 year old boy to notify staff if he feels insecure about the harness. He’s a kid. It’s our responsibility as adults to ensure kids are safe on things like rides.

I can hear the ride operator yell “seat belt! Seatbelt! On the left!” As the ride is ascending. Something was wrong and I think they knew it. There should have been an emergency halt of the ride and it should have been slowly brought down.

The kid had no way of knowing, aside from instinct, that something was incorrect about the safety features on the ride. He bears absolutely not one iota of responsibility.

 

[gitana1]

I agree, the victim and his family do not hold any "personal responsibility" for this tragedy.

Of course not. Isn’t that awful? Poor kid.

We are supposed to put our faith and trust in the amusement park management and ride operators to keep kids safe on rides. Kids aren’t expected to know they need to adhere to height or weight requirements, for example. They’re excited and running around in a rush to have fun. They are going to go by what the staff does or says. Not by what they intuit about safety features.

The only responsibility a kid would have is if a teen is actively ignoring and disobeying staff who are telling them to do something or to not do something dangerous. Like trying to stand up in a ride, or making something rock of its tracks, etc. And even then, the onus is on the park to eliminate risk as much as possible.

 

[Gardenista]

ICON park: Accident report in teen's Orlando FreeFall ride death says seat was locked - CNN

 

[Shamrock1]

I wonder if the seat locked post-fall.

 

[rebelchild]

I wonder if the seat locked post-fall.

I thought the same thing

 

[Sarahlou]

I wonder if the seat locked post-fall.

That must be the only explanation, surely? Doesn't make any sense otherwise

 

[Breezie]

Tyre Sampson's Seat Was Still Locked When The Ride Stopped, Investigation Into Teen's Death Reveals


"Harness was still in a down and locked position when the ride stopped," the report states. CNN says the report is based on ride employee witnesses.

SlingShot Group, who owns the ride, said its safety precautions mean it is only meant to operate if all riders are safely locked in.

There might have been an error and all riders were shown as locked in before the ride could start. This would match what the operators were saying in some articles about the green light being on.

Records: Tyre Sampson may have exceeded ride's weight limit | ksdk.com

According to an operating manual for the FreeFall ride, the weight limit for the ride was about 287 pounds. Sampson's father said he weighed about 325 pounds.

He is almost 40 lbs over the weight limit but at his height he would look leaner than a 5’10 or a 6 ft tall person who is 287. The operators might not like asking about someone’s weight unless someone is obviously 50 to 100 lbs or more over the limit. He was told he was too big for other rides but the rides might have different weight limits

 

[jdglove]

The described report was created by the park and lists three employees as the source. It should not be given too much weight since it's the three people most liable who agree that the harness was locked. But I also give it some degree of consideration and interest. It just does not sound to me like it's a definitive conclusion by an impartial third party.
If the harness was down and locked the whole time, there seems to be an even greater mystery of how a boy that size slipped out and fell.
The news about this "report" seems to be missing some important context.

 

[Breezie]

It sounded like there was a control panel showing all riders were locked in before the operator could start the ride via having a green light on the panel. If there was not one then there should have been one. The ride should not be able to start unless the panel shows all riders are locked in because of the possibility of human error.

 

[Breezie]

Is it a possibility that initially it was engaged, almost by force because we can see that the shoulder area doesn’t look flush like with other riders, but if the green light was on to say the lock mechanism was engaged and the staff pulled on the harness and it was still locked in, could it have been like a cork in a champagne bottle that’s not fully 100% engaged and initially you don’t notice anything is wrong but slowly there’s a build up of pressure until it explodes? Ergo due to Tyre’s size and girth , it was a slow build up and half way through the ride up to the top and before the ride dropped , the harness came out of its locking safety mechanism because it eventually couldn’t hold any more because it was too much pressure on the locking mechanism and it exploded to the point where the safety locking mechanism disengaged ? I honestly can’t see the members of staff saying the green light was lit to say that he was buckled in, if it wasn’t because that’s electronic and more than likely there will be a computer trail of it.
I think that we have to wait for all the facts first that the investigation reveals before we condem the young kids who are working on seating the customer and checking the locks and disembarking the customers as liars who didn’t do their job.

*This makes some sense. It might be a mechanical or both a mechanical and an operator error. This is a ride no one could survive if the riders are not all locked in so odds are the ride must have a start mechanism that relies on a control panel showing all riders are locked in.