Verrückt water slide decapitation 10

[bimr]

A water park boss has been charged after a 10-year-old boy was decapitated on the world’s most tallest slide which investigators claim “violated every safety rule”.

Jeffrey Wayne Henry, 62, co-owner of Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts, was arrested in Cameron County, Texas, on a federal warrant that was issued after the company's Kansas City, Kansas, park and its former director of operations, Tyler Austin Miles, were indicted last week in Kansas state court in the death of Caleb, the son of Kansas state Rep. Scott Schwab.

According to the indictment, Henry "possesses no technical or engineering credentials, yet he controls decisions regarding Schlitterbahn design and construction projects."

Co-owner of the waterpark was arrested

Schlitterbahn Water Park Boss

 

[Overvoltage]

The thing is, these small towns are usually looking for development. They're "hungry". If you get to the bigger cities, you'll probably see more regulations and costs. In a small town, however, if you want to invest money into the town by adding a business or even better yet an employer, they're all for it (with exceptions for "sin-type" businesses of course...)

 

[IRstuff]

"Amusement Park visitors assume that the rides are safe."

In some respects, they are way safer than the rides attached to the traveling circuses and shows. Just imagine a Tilt-a-Whirl that gets dismantled and mantled every week. In previous years, there were reports of deaths and injuries and even less oversight, since they're not permanent structures and switch towns, counties, and states on a moment's notice.

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!

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[MikeHalloran]

Rubber rafts make bad airplanes.



Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[zeusfaber]

Just imagine a Tilt-a-Whirl that gets dismantled and mantled every week

That would be the Tilt-a-Whirl whose otherwise inaccessible structural components get a weekly close-up, hands-on, inspection from somebody who knows how they are meant to go together and whose personal livelihood depends on the whole lot staying together when it's meant to.

A few years ago, I heard the (UK) HSE inspector responsible for fairground rides across the country saying that it was the fixed rides that always bothered him most.

One of my suppliers does a bit of hydraulic repair work for that industry and describes them (not, to be fair, his precise words) as very demanding customers.

A.

 

[Ron]

Amusement rides and attractions usually come under a separate state government entity and have little or nothing to do with the building codes. A prime example of that is in Florida, where we have amusement rides and attractions out the wazoo! The Florida Amusement rides come under the State of Florida, Department of Agriculture, Division of Fair Rides and Amusements. They have inspectors who inspect each transportable ride, but permanent park rides may be handled internally by the parks, provided they meet certain criteria. The major theme parks in Florida are allowed to do their own internal inspections to satisfy the state requirements. Some other states have similar laws/criteria. In most of the late 80's and 90's I did a lot of amusement ride consulting, from inspections to failure investigations. I co-authored the first inspection protocol for transportable rides for the State of Florida. I have done many, many inspections, tests and failure investigations for several of the major permanent parks, both before and after they were authorized by the State of Florida to do their own internal inspections.

In dealing with these rides, I had to deal with many of the ride manufacturers. I was very surprised that some of the major ride manufacturers have NO engineering staff. At best they would have maybe an unlicensed mechanical engineer doing everything from the structure to the movement mechanisms, etc. One of the major coaster manufacturers in the US had exactly this setup. One of the European manufacturers had a PhD engineer who was a "captive consultant", but did other stuff as well. Almost everything was designed by trial and error, along with some good ol' boy 'speriance.

So this water slide design does not surprise me in the least.

IRstuff.....there are many of the older rides, such as the Tilt-a-Whirl, Scrambler and older Ferris Wheels that have performed many years with few problems. Some of the more recent ride designs have actually been more problematic in the transportable rides, including those such as the parachutes, Himalaya (and its theme variations), and the Orbitron. All of these rides are dynamic and subject to fatigue and the older rides were so overdesigned that fatigue was rarely an issue. Newer rides have been "optimized" in their design to the point that fatigue is a common concern. Transportable rides are subject to fatigue in their operation and in their transportation. The State of Florida has a requirement in their law (which we have tried to get removed because it doesn't make sense) to test for fatigue! Oh well....

 

[LittleInch]

This link on page 7 stays 42 states have regulations and 38 of them quotw astm F24.

Any idea which the 42 are?

Looks like Kansas isn't one of them.

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&s...WMAV6BAgEEAE&usg=AOvVaw30b1DbTJR5KD1Ea9Dd_GXK

Remember - More details = better answers
Also: If you get a response it's polite to respond to it.

 

[msquared48]

Wow Ron...

You must write books on the side!



Mike McCann, PE, SE (WA)

 

[Ron]

Mike...only when forced!

 

[bimr]

This link on page 7 stays 42 states have regulations and 38 of them quote astm F24. Any idea which the 42 are?

See the chart in the link:

Comparison of State Ride Safety Regulations

 

[SnTMan]

All of these rides are dynamic and subject to fatigue and the older rides were so overdesigned that fatigue was rarely an issue. Newer rides have been "optimized" in their design to the point that fatigue is a common concern.

(My emphasis)

See this in all kinds of places as "advanced analysis" becomes more integrated w/ design software...

Regards,

Mike



The problem with sloppy work is that the supply FAR EXCEEDS the demand

 

[stevenal]

Arrested. Link

 

[John2025]

Those indictments are sobering. I know they deserve their day in court, but I can't imagine what their defense could possibly be. Such wanton disregard for peoples' health and safety is stunning.

 

[JedClampett]

Our legal system is great, but the slowness of the proceedings tends to tamp down the anger of the moment (probably a good thing; we don't want lynchings). I would expect that these guys never see the inside of a prison.

 

[LittleInch]

I finally had a look at the list bimr provided on park safety.

Kansas is pretty poor on the list, no govt or state oversight, allows private inspections and no requirement to report any injury.

~The only worse ones with basically no state oversight or any requirement for anyone to inspect it are
Alabama
Idaho
Mississippi
Montana
Nevada
Utah and
Wyoming

Kind of makes you a bit more nervous about taking the plunge on some of these rides knowing that...


Remember - More details = better answers
Also: If you get a response it's polite to respond to it.

 

[WinelandV]

Per the indictment, there were injuries over the course of a few years. Surely some of these required hospital/clinic visits. Which would have triggered all the insurance paperwork that goes with it. So, none of the insurance companies looked into the park when injuries were reported that claimed this ride as the cause? That seems... out of character for most insurance companies. Not sure what to make of that.

 

[IRstuff]

Schooley, the "designer," was just arrested:

http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/crime/article207778379.html

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!

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[BridgeSmith]

"The only worse ones with basically no state oversight or any requirement for anyone to inspect it are..."

I don't know about the other states on the list, but Wyoming doesn't have any permanent amusement parks, nor any privately-owned water slides. All of the rides that would require oversight of this type are either temporary or city-owned. I believe Montana is the same.

 

[Ron]

HR10....The transportable rides (county fairs, festivals, parking lot pop-ups, etc) need to be inspected at every set up. Many states require this. It is a public safety issue and if states don't require it, I consider them negligent to the public.

Permanent parks are usually safer than the transportables, but that depends a lot on their sophistication, size and state oversight.

 

[BridgeSmith]

Ron, I agree rides should be properly vetted before opening and regularly inspected by an outside entity, and almost all venues for temporary setups require such, even if the state does not. States that have permanent amusement parks should regulate and inspect them, for sure. That is where the the state of Kansas failed. My guess is that states that do not currently oversee the permanent amusement parks in their states, will begin doing so shortly after this case gets wider attention.

 

[ChadV]

JedClampett, fel3, and others: thanks for the insight on the quite varied standards state-by-state!

I'm wondering now about the structural part... it seems clear from the indictment that the supporting structure was designed by a P.E., but I'm curious the opinions of folks here... would you be comfortable designing the support structure without having input on the loads coming from a proper calculation of the ride dynamics?