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

[rebelchild]

We have no idea what rides or restraints you are referring to. As far as the FreeFall ride at ICON Park, SingShot Group is the responsible party. They made “manual adjustments to the ride resulting in it being unsafe” and allowed the harness’ restraint opening to be “almost double” of the normal opening range. That’s terrifying.

If you read the quote that I was replying to, it might make more sense. Mpnola and I had the same type of experience on the same ride in Vegas.

ETA .. not the FreeFall ride.

 

[rebelchild]

I think her point is that rides should not be able to run if the restraint isn't properly locked.
But she almost experienced it herself. It doesn't matter which ride/restraint IMO.

I agree the main responsible party in this case is the one who made the "adjustments," but just how easy was it? If it was pretty easy to tamper with - again I ask, why? You have to keep user-error-and-tomfoolery in mind when designing products. (My opinion only, and I don't know what was involved/done in this case.)

Thats exactly what we were talking about! Thank you

 

[AmyPond]

My biggest heartache was watching no one run to Tyre. One person ran near him to call for help, but no one crouched down to talk to Tyre or hold his hand. There were more people questioning whether workers followed procedure, which is important, but that info can be gathered when the medical team gets there.

One of the reasons I always watch videos like this one...I am so intrigued by watching how people react in these situations. My husband thinks I'm weird and morbid for watching videos like this. I have thankfully never been in a horrible situation so I have no clue how I would react. But it was shocking to see how the staff immediately seemed to worry about themselves.

From what I saw on the video and having been on rides with similar overhead harnesses, they click/lock at multiple places depending on the size of the rider. He probably had it locked in the first position, which may not have been far enough to keep him secure. The ride drops and then brakes and stops long before it reaches the ground. I think it was at that braking and stopping that he slipped out from under the harness.

I would like to know if the operators went around and checked to see if every harness was down as far as possible. That is what most ride operators do on thrill rides. Did these simply rely on the lights showing all harnesses were locked?

I think both the park and manufacturer should be held liable. The park should not have let him ride. The manufacturer should not have the light turn green when the harness is in that first position.

Yes, that's been my experience on rides with harnesses. I know that sometimes I put it in a comfortable position and sometimes they walk by and close it farther, which squishes me a bit but after seeing this, I totally understand the need for it.

Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried on Monday released a report, shedding light on the death of Tyre Sampson, 14, who fell from the Orlando FreeFall ride at ICON Park on March 24.

The report revealed that the ride’s operator made manual adjustments, resulting in it being unsafe, Fried said.

She said adjustments were made to the “censor of the seat in question to allow the harness restraint opening to be almost double that of the normal restraint opening range.”

Fried said the adjustment allowed safety lights to “illuminate, improperly, satisfying the ride’s electronic safety mechanism that allowed the ride to operate, even tough Mr. Sampson was not properly secured in the seat
She said the ride will remain closed indefinitely as her office continues its investigation.

The next phases of the investigation will determine whether the operator will face any penalties and if any changes must be made to the state’s rules and regulations for rides, Fried said.

Report: Orlando FreeFall’s operator made manual adjustments to ride that made it unsafe

@MerrisBadcock
Per the report, Sampson was in 'Seat 1', the night he fell from Orlando Freefall, a 430 ft. drop tower at ICON Park. The report says the harness had been previously adjusted from a 3 in. gap, to a 6-7 in. gap. Sensors were also adjusted so the ride would still operate

Read the preliminary report here: https://bit.ly/3Md0WfR

This sounds like the fault of the park management. When they say 'operator' in the manual, they basically mean the owners of the ride, not the min wage person working the ride that day. This has to be a decision from the higher ups to tamper electronically with 2 seats on the ride to override design safety protocols so that they could take larger patrons on the ride (on seats #1 & #2). That's criminal negligence, I'd wager. They chose greed over safety. JMO.

This is crazy to read! I really want to know who exactly made this decision. Sickening!

 

[al66pine]

I have not read the even the Mar 22, Field Investigation Report, by Quest Engineering, i.e., preliminary report,* but seems like potential problems---
- originated w the ride's design flaw and/or manufacturing defect which allowed the on-site ride-crew to make adjustments beyond certain safety parameters
and
- were compounded when the on-site crew, responsible for seating guests & operating the ride's mechanisms, made adjustments beyond the certain safety parameters. my2ct

RIP, Tyre Sampson. Condolences to his parents, family, friends, community.


{Edited: Generally speaking does some truth underlie the comments below?}
"Several Murphy's law adages claim that idiot-proof systems cannot be made, for example "Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool" and "If you make something idiot-proof, someone will just make a better idiot." Along those lines, Douglas Adams wrote in Mostly Harmless, "a common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools".[3]"
Idiot-proof - Wikipedia
_______________________
* Preliminary report: https://bit.ly/3Md0WfR

 

[Cryptic]

On the other hand, here's a thought : Is it possible that the light indicator was 'green' or 'on', showing that all of the restraints were properly secured -- but in reality one seat was not ?

If this is a likely scenario, the error would be on the manufacturer of the ride, and not the employees.

Evidently, somebody tampered with / over rode safety features to allow for larger people.

I am thinking that the ride registered the restraints as being secured because they were say, buckled. But... the restraints were "securing" an individual that should not have been riding and could not of been riding had the seat not been uhm..... "adjusted" past its safety design.

 

[jdglove]

One of the reasons I always watch videos like this one...I am so intrigued by watching how people react in these situations. My husband thinks I'm weird and morbid for watching videos like this. I have thankfully never been in a horrible situation so I have no clue how I would react. But it was shocking to see how the staff immediately seemed to worry about themselves.

I posted a comment here about how sad it was no one rushed to Tyre to give basic first aid. The two ride operators who are required by law to be trained in first aid were discussing if his seat was checked.

People responded to my comment that it wouldn't help and that they might kill him if they did CPR wrong. The latter is a myth. And you can't know in most cases if it would help. In this case it was reported that Tyre died "at the hospital". CPR would probably not have changed that, very unlikely. But no one tried even when the 911 operator tried to talk a caller through it.

Imagine if all you accomplished was hearing his final words, that would mean the world to his family. Imagine there's any slight chance the person in their last moment could hear someone say "I'm here. Help is on the way. And I'll do anything I can for you." If you ever stop to help someone who is conscious enough to understand those words, maybe hear them say thank you and give you a smile that you worry may be their last, I promise you'll never stand by and do nothing again.

I've been first on scene twice in auto accidents. In one case a man was crushed and died. In the other a driver hit a pole head-on and survived.

Just know the basics from youtube if nothing else. Check pulse and breathing. Pressure if bleeding. Chest compressions if no pulse. Stabilize head and neck if possible. Just decide ahead of time what you'll do without thinking. I'll do what I can if it's you, please do what you can if it's me.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

I think - when an emergency or sudden death occurs, people's brains may not want to accept what they see. That didn't just happen, didn't you check everyone?, I checked- the lights were all on...
brain can't figure out what just happened and how, at first. It's trying to make it not possible somehow. Make what just happened not have happened.

You would have to be able to immediately push past this, in order to run to the victim or touch them, especially with major injuries.

Most people on the scene were good people because most people are. I do not think we should be too hard on the ride employee(s) at the scene, unless it's a fact they clearly violated their training. (Just my current opinion.)

 

[IceIce9]

Orlando FreeFall: Officials release additional 911 calls following tragic incident: 'Somebody just died'

 

[borndem]

How can this be a failure by the manufacturer when they give a weight limit?

Excellent point, @Gardenista. The manufacturer will probably get sued regardless, but the company may well be considered non-liable.

 

[Sincerely]

Orlando FreeFall: Officials release additional 911 calls following tragic incident: 'Somebody just died'

It’s sad to hear these. They were surely traumatized.

 

[PrairieWind]

Excellent point, @Gardenista. The manufacturer will probably get sued regardless, but the company may well be considered non-liable.

One theory that could be used against the manufacturer of the ride is that there was a design flaw in that the ride harness was easily modified to allow larger people to ride it and that there wasn't a secondary restraint system (ie actual seat belts). That is what i would claim if I represented the family.

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

Update in case of teen who fell to his death from world's tallest drop ride

THE 14-year-old boy who fell to his death after slipping off the world’s tallest drop ride at Orlando’s Icon Park in March died from blunt force trauma, an autopsy report has revealed. …

www.the-sun.com

 

[ilovewings]

Update in case of teen who fell to his death from world's tallest drop ride

THE 14-year-old boy who fell to his death after slipping off the world’s tallest drop ride at Orlando’s Icon Park in March died from blunt force trauma, an autopsy report has revealed. …

www.the-sun.com

He was 96 pounds over the weight limit.

 

[PrairieWind]

I have so many questions about how this could happen. Clearly the owner/operator of this ride is liable here. But I'd also like to know how they trained the people actually running the ride. They look like they are very young. so probably bare minimum training and oversight.

 

[IceIce9]

Lawyers, along with Tyre’s father, will be in ICON Park today, to give us their reaction to the autopsy. That will be at 11:30 this morning. WESH 2 will stream above.

Family of 14-year-old killed in fall from ICON Park ride to address autopsy findings

Family says the owner and maker of the Free Fall are totally to blame for his death.

www.wesh.com

 

[Laughing]

I have so many questions about how this could happen. Clearly the owner/operator of this ride is liable here. But I'd also like to know how they trained the people actually running the ride. They look like they are very young. so probably bare minimum training and oversight.

Looks like the manufacturer is legally protected:

According to a manual produced by the manufacturer of the ride, Funtime Thrill Rides, the maximum weight allowance for Orlando FreeFall is listed as 130 kilograms, or 286 pounds.

Previously, Sampson’s youth football coach, AJ Jones of Bad Boyz Football, told News 6 Sampson weighed 320 pounds at the time of his death.

New records show Orlando FreeFall has weight limit as state continues to investigate teen’s death

The Orlando FreeFall is the subject of scrutiny as state agencies look into what caused a 14-year-old to fall to his death from the ICON Park ride last Thursday.

www.clickorlando.com

Was there a weight limit sign posted? I poked around, can't find that information. Anyone know where to find that?

Another article mentions that seats were altered. The park operators seem to have legal exposure....

jmho ymmv lrr

 

[IceIce9]

Looks like the manufacturer is legally protected:

According to a manual produced by the manufacturer of the ride, Funtime Thrill Rides, the maximum weight allowance for Orlando FreeFall is listed as 130 kilograms, or 286 pounds.

Previously, Sampson’s youth football coach, AJ Jones of Bad Boyz Football, told News 6 Sampson weighed 320 pounds at the time of his death.

New records show Orlando FreeFall has weight limit as state continues to investigate teen’s death

The Orlando FreeFall is the subject of scrutiny as state agencies look into what caused a 14-year-old to fall to his death from the ICON Park ride last Thursday.

www.clickorlando.com

Was there a weight limit sign posted? I poked around, can't find that information. Anyone know where to find that?

Another article mentions that seats were altered. The park operators seem to have legal exposure....

jmho ymmv lrr

If the park operators altered the manufactured safety equipment it wouldn’t be the fault of the manufacturer. JMO

If you purchase an infant seat and alter the straps to allow a larger baby to sit in it, exceeding the manufacturer’s size and weight limits, that isn’t the fault of the manufacturer if the seat fails.

 

[Laughing]

If the park operators altered the manufactured safety equipment it wouldn’t be the fault of the manufacturer. JMO

If you purchase an infant seat and alter the straps to allow a larger baby to sit in it, exceeding the manufacturer’s size and weight limits, that isn’t the fault of the manufacturer if the seat fails.

And, if you drive a car without buckling your seat belt -- that's not the manufacturer's fault.

If you disable airbags -- not the manufacturer's fault.

IMHO, not a Florida attorney, the park operators have a legal problem here.

jmho ymmv lrr

 

[frenchmoxie]

From the little video i saw before the ride lifts up, and judging by what happened, I am just guessing that the safety restrain was not actually buckled between Tyre's legs.

Exactly. I’m the video there’s a man yelling out Loudly and multiple times to the riders “SEATBELTS!!! SEATBELT!!!! On the left!!!”

 

[MsBetsy]

Exactly. I’m the video there’s a man yelling out Loudly and multiple times to the riders “SEATBELTS!!! SEATBELT!!!! On the left!!!”

Was he yelling at the riders or to another ride attendant? I don't know why they couldn't have stopped the ride right then.

They should have never let him ride in the first place. Even the kid seemed to know something was wrong. How could they not see that he didn't fit properly in the seat and safety restraints?