What Really Happened on SlingShot Kissimmee March 26th 2021?
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- čas přidán 10. 12. 2021
- EDIT 3/25/22: Almost exactly 1 year later, tonight a guest fell from the drop tower at Icon park and was killed. It appears his restraint was not properly secured prior to the ride starting. Slingshot Group has not changed, please avoid their attractions.
Just a few months ago an accident occurred on the Slingshot at Old Town Kissimmee suffered an accident. The ride was closed for a few days then repaired and reopened. Though the ride reopened there are still many questions that need to be answered. Unfortunately soon after this happened the public lost interest in this accident. This video is what we know, as well as my best guess as to why it happened.
Slingshot Group attractions:
-Daytona Beach Slingshot and Vomatron
-Old Town Slingshot and Vomatron (Slingshot Kissimmee)
-Orlando Slingshot at Magical Midway
-Go-Karts, Merry Go Round, Bumper Boats, Bumper Cars, and Starflyer at Magical Midway
-Sunset Walk Slingshot
-Slingshot, Vomatron, and Go-Karts at Indy Speedway in Panama City
-Icon Park Orlando Starflyer, drop tower, and slingshot
Coaster Dave: / coasterdave
Sources:
www.funtime.com.au/data/index1...
oldtownslingshot-vomatron.com/
www.clickorlando.com/news/loc...
www.wunderground.com/history/...
starflyer.com/more-attractions/
/ @slingshotkissimmee
rideentertainment.com/extreme...
www.enjoyflorida.com/worlds-t...
Videos used:
Technical Park Ejection Seat: • Ejection Seat
Gravity Works Ejection Seat: • Ejection seat in Brans...
SlingShot Kissimee CZcams Page: / @slingshotkissimmee
Ejection Seat restraint failure: • Paris : grosse frayeur...
Funtime Slingshot Carowinds: • Extreme Rides- Slingsh...
Funtime Slingshot Cedar Point: • Extreme Rides- Slingsh...
Funtime Slingshot Six Flags Fiesta Texas: • Extreme Rides- Slingsh...
Funtime Slingshot Luna Park: • Extreme Rides- Slingsh...
Funtime Slingshot (old model) ad: • Funtime Slingshot
Slingshot Orlando: / orlandoslingshot
News source: • 2 riders pulled from s...
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Being easily preventable aside, this incident is a good example of why failsafes are so important.
For sure
Unfortunately there is no way to provide a failsafe for a ride like this.
Yes.. I say this all the time.
@Chad Meckstroth those can be altered as we've seen from the reports. The park changed the settings and made a physical adjustment so larger guests could ride. The failsafe was rendered useless.
@@darthvader5532 Then just use thicker cables?
I actually operate one at a cedar fair park. For anon purposes, I won’t say which park. We’re trained to check the cables twice, once before going to our safe zones to raise the spring box (basically right after we check restraints), and a second time before we give the clear to launch. Seems like this incident could have been easily avoided.
What would you do if the cord was tangled and how would you guys get it untangled?
I bet it’s Six Flags great America
@@jordansmith4775 he said cedar fair so no not six flags.
@@JRBowling1997 we would try to twist the cable connecter to untangle it, if it didn’t work, we would call maintenance and call the ride down.
@@dipkill28 oh
This video is way more chilling and damning with the newest ICON accident. It's like they learned absolutely nothing between then and now. Thank you for documenting this and bringing these questionable practices to light
these two accidents are very different
@@reserrr5225 I think Nicole was referring to the fact that there may have been an element of operator error involved in the Icon accident.
Nicole is right sling shot owns The free fall drop. Smh sling shot company needs to be shut down permanently.
@@jigglypuff3798 No it doesn't
@@queenboujee5833 They do need to have a good look at, and possibly complete overhaul of, their safety, maintenance and staff training practices. 3 accidents in 2 years, including 2 fatal incidents, is not a good sign.
I am a ride operator on a slingshot (Catapult at Lagoon). After this accident, we were instructed that untwisting the cables is VERY important and our managers have been constantly watching to ensure we are untwisting the cables and watching the ride.
I love Lagoon!! Lol I grew up in Utah.
I still never want to go on a Slingshot, but I'm impressed with the failsafe measures designed into the rides... I didn't know about the swivels or redundant cables before this video!
same
I wanna go on one so bad but I'm not sure if actually risking my life is worth it for a thrill ride
@@LuluTheCorgi The reason it's so "thrilling" is because there's a chance you COULD die.
I love coaster's but Slingshots are not my thing.
@@Miuu_i Same here. Love most roller coasters but I have no desire to do on a Slingshot ride.
honestly, while I know there were problems, the designers deserve a massive bravo I think. Things wear out and fail, and from the design end you can never really ensure the buyer is going to maintain the ride properly, so making it so that a part can fail and the riders can still be home safe at night safe is good design imo.
Completely agree!
Yep. Redundancy is important for safety. I learned this in cybersecurity and apparently it applies to physical real world design as well.
Do you have to sign a disclaimer form before riding on a sling shot type of ride which releases the park from liability in the event of an accident or death happening. Basically saying to the rider that you ride at your own risk. No one under the age of 18 can ride without signed permission from a parent or legal guardian?...I personally may think about taking the ride but would be to scared to actually do it. IBeleive the ride operator should never use their cell phones while on duty. That tells people they do not care about safety of the ride or riders.
Redundant systems are huuuuge in aviation - that’s why planes are so safe.
As a former operator, It was important for me to check the cables, because their safety is my responsibility. It was my greatest fear to lose someone due to self error.
I hope people like you know you make ride goers like myself feel so safe🙏
I can’t imagine being that careless working a ride where an accident could be very bad. I especially cannot imagine being that careless knowing there’s publicly available candid videos made on the ride regularly.
We;re sorry, that makes you unqualified for a job at most theme parks. Good look in the ministry, you will do well there.
imo, the blame should be on whoever is hiring these unexperienced teenagers and not paying them enough to care.
people (operators) don't care . . especially if standing out in the sun for hours and being paid very little
@@esotericpince I agree! They are responsible for lives.
That's what happens when you hire a bunch of listless teenagers to operate heavy machinery.
I remember being at a Luna park in France and was looking at the slingshot ride which was next to our line. None of the operators really paid attention and they legit were on their phone abouy 90% of the time. They also were rather rude and not very patient.
Idk where they pull these people from but if I was a park owner I'd make surprise visits every now and then...
Girl stfu nobody believes that ride operators were ALL being negligent and hazardous all day everyday! Somebody was rude and you wanna make stuff up ! 🙄 that’s it.
@@jennyrebecca7243 I wasn't the one they were rude to and never rode that ride. I just observed. But I am guessing you just need to be upset about something today. I hope the rest of your day goes better.
Smart phone addiction is real and the consequences to society are being ignored since nearly all are hooked. Dang.
Whats the theme parks in france like?
@@jennyrebecca7243 What a rude reply! Seriously, learn how to be respectful!
You've come a long way, baby.
Teaching rather than snarking. Tons of those channels exist already, but your explanations are understandable to anyone who's ridden a coaster/flat ride. You possess a plethora of first hand experience and are now presenting that in an instructional, likable way.
Love this video and change of format overall. I'm genuinely excited for your future.
Thank you! Glad you like the change!
Can you imagine that elastic band breaking RIGHT BEFORE you're about to get launched? I mean its better than while you're in the air obvi, but for the ones that were about to get launched those people have serious angels watching over them.
There was one video I looked at where the one cable broke RIGHT AFTER the slingshot ride ended ... I would never go on any of these rides .
And the people who were hurt or killed? Were their angels busy or did they just not care?
@@Kimariesings 😐
And the others have careless angels watching over them? lol
@@scruffyRe 😘
Personally I would never ride one of these and yet I'm fascinated with people who are brave enough to do it. The fact that you have worked for one of these rides is better because your explanation of how these accidents can happen is better than the BS reports the public typically hears. When you showed the worker on his phone while he was supposed to be doing checks and preparation for launch was chilling. It's sad when people's lives are destroyed due to preventable issues.
Yup, lived in kissimmee for 15 years, never getting on it lol
I'll get on any rollercoaster or drop tower, but I'm never ever getting on a slingshot
Man, I remember the 90's... Getting on my first one... These newer models are exciting and all, but just the experience in the 90's (ejection seat model) walking up to the platform was terrifying... It's one of those rides that just looking at it, and ZERO actual physics or engineering knowledge required, you KNOW that thing's dangerous. It straight looks rickety as hell, and feels a little like you're about to volunteer to actually be shot out of a cannon...
One of them, a dubious operation in New Mexico if I recall correctly, had the old school single restraints... just a four-point harness, and a tattoo sleeved guy with a mustache longer than his goatee fixing and tensioning your straps for you... kicking at the funky mechanical hook device underneath, and grunting something about "Good enough for government work"... AND then the god-awful crescendo of whining and tightening of the elastic bands...
The actual ride's about the same as you see on the vid'... BUT the experience of standing in line for an hour or so and dehydrating in desert daytime before the "step up" to launch... Yeah, THAT was something else, and probably THE most terrifying part of the ride... Among the longest minute and a half of my life...
10/10, though... as long as you FRIGGIN' HANG ON TO THAT HARNESS WITH A DEATH GRIP!!! Those f***in' straps can move around, and it just feels WRONG enough you'll die of a heart attack whether or not there's any dysfunction... ;o)
I went on one 20 years ago and there was no bravery involved, didn't have any fear of it so didn't need bravery, I assume it's like that for most people
@@fatbroccoli8 I wish I had no fear so I could experience extreme rides.
So, no one actually got hurt. That's a good thing. It always sucks if someone is hurt due to a ride accident, as rare as they can be.
But bruh, they should crack down on checking for twisted cables on these if that is why it happened. And why are the ride operators on their phones during a cycle? I know it probably varies from park to park but still, it just doesn't seem like a good idea.
This is one of the rare incidents that makes me feel better about a ride. It's unfortunate that it happened but knowing that the failsafes worked as they're supposed to eases my concerns a bit
This is one of the reasons why I don't like to go to smaller parks. I was a ride operator for two seasons and what I learned has stuck with me.
What happens?
Like what?
you don't like to go to small parks because? seems all failsafes worked appropriately. not sure your logic.
I agree the only rollercoasters I feel safe going on are Disney rollercoasters and Blackpool rollercoasters
@@Mini-wd7qz Lol Blackpool Wild Mouse definitely wasn't safe
Watching this after the accident at Icon park makes it that much harder to think of people riding rides like slingshots at their park. My heart goes out the the victim’s family and friends.
As a developer and engineer, I know how much effort and care is put into developing such installations. When accidents happen, it is mostly up to the operators. These are often poorly trained and not very motivated. Unfortunately, it happens again and again that at some point in the daily routine the regulations are less and less observed. I've had cases where there were clear signs of wear and tear due to incorrect use that no one took care of. The operators didn't even question whether this might have something to do with their actions. It was probably more or less indifferent to them. I am of the opinion that employees with at least a rudimentary understanding of technology and responsibility are needed in these positions. But they're probably too expensive.
It's not they're too expensive it's the amusement parks are too cheap/ greedy
@@shawnpattison8451 imagine how much they invest in parks. Which there really could be way more tents & fans for lines. & lines in the south... that alone could make u nauseous. B4 u even get on a ride. But im in the carowinds area. As soon as you get out the park, the streets are full of potholes & the gas station in the front has a hood vibe. I'm not being racist. It really is nothing but black ppl working there. We just go there usually for a bathroom break and or to pick up vitamin type waters. On the rds close by is nothing but exits to the interstates too. Even the beginning of those exits r holy. Like make it make sense. Oh & nvrmind the food. .. bc I really spent $40 (+) on just 2 chicken tenders plates (fries & onion rings. W/ drinks) that isn't even that good. That's WITH a memberships discount. My hubby & I do this back & forth thing w/ splitting $. Only he's horrible w/ paying things on time & it annoys the hell outta me. It's not that he doesn't ever pay back. He's just "molasses" 🤠
they just need to implement a way to incentivize the operators to not fuck up.. That could be a reward or even prison lol
@@ahhwe-any7434 if you aren’t being racist then what relevance does the race of the workers have?
@@chriskleps7253 I clearly said that I'm a a racist. Clearly. Also, stop making so many fake profiles, creep
I don't ride amusement rides anymore after a horrible experience on a flying trapeze swing. My seat was spinning from side to side and kept ramming my knees into the empty swing in front of me and my seat kept ramming into my daughter's knees who was sitting behind me. I thought the chains were going to snap loose. Tried getting the operator's attention but the teen was too busy on her cell phone. Such a benign ride, yet, it was the scariest ride of my life. I used to seek out the craziest rides to go on and loved them.
There should be a college class on how to operate theme park rides, your lives are litterly in the hands of so many people and it's very irresponsible to keep hiring teenagers or people with little experience, that's why I'm about to stop going to these things cause God ain't calling me yet, I still got years to live Amen.
I work for a Cedar Fair owned park and during our training process (which I had 3 or 4 classes total) we are told to always check the safety of the ride everyday and all day wither that's fully checking the ride before opening and after closing. You also get used to hearing the ride and how it's supposed to operate so if someone hears something off within the ride you are supposed to report it and our maintenance team will check it out and tell you if it's something you should have to worry about. The fact that this specific ride operator wasn't doing safety checks before and after each cycle is highly dangerous. He (or she) should be fired. Thankfully no one was hurt during the process but if one or both got hurt, the ride operator would definitely be sued. Especially if one or both teens died. At my park we are asked if we are comfortable knowing that we are liable for death (obviously you say yes to get the job) but once you are on the floor you need to take that seriously. This person clearly didn't that seriously
you were told; so were these operators; they don't care . . . low wages standing in hot sun for hours . . . .
Honestly, when you can have a dramatic failure like that and the result ends up being that you're stuck a few dozen feet in the air for awhile, unharmed, I'd say that means the design is fantastic. I rode a Slingshot type ride in Ocean City, MD once. It was fun. Glad to know they're well designed.
As long as someone isn't stupidly bypassing safety features (The FreeFall ride death...) it seems like on a per mile basis, you're safer in an amusement park ride than you are in a car, plane, or train - the latter two already having insanely good safety records.
I wish the common sense in that (free fall) teen would’ve kicked in before they started the ride, that poor baby 💔😖
I used to be a primary operator on a slingshot, and let me tell you, the idea of them snapping terrifies me. I’ve had so many kids terrified of it snapping, me assuring them they are okay.
The bigger accident I was referring to unfortunately happened...
Yup. So this video aged well.. smh rest in peace to that kid
@@1geekedaniya should have been told he was too big and he'd still be alive
@@zdeezy7959 exactly he was way to big for that ride and the operator did all that talking and didn’t check to make sure him or anyone was secure
R.I.P Tyre Sampson ♥ another incident involving a free fall ride happened in 1999 to a 12yr old boy, he was ejected from way high in the air and died instantly upon impact AND he was well UNDER the maximum weight limit for the ride smh These rides arent safe yall.
I live about 15 miles from Old Town, somehow I never found out about this accident. Great video man👍(I always stayed a million feet away from that ride, now I'm adding a extra thousand)
Right I live 2 hours away and visit the area regularly and never heard about it
I live close and heard about it but then again are we surprised? Fun spot is a lawsuit waiting to happen built to run as cheap as possible with most rides feeling ancient and not in a good way.
I actually went on old towns slingshot not to long ago and they actually were checking to make sure everything was good before getting ready to launch as well as before they launched us. I will say the ride was 10/10 very fun. However with the operators lounging around that is accurate because when we went to them they were just chilling there.
@@matthewzepess5721 This is not a Fun Spot ride as he mentioned in the video. It is operated by a completely separate entity.
We traveled to Kissimmee florida all the way from Louisiana. We definitely loved walking through old town but watched other people ride the more crazier rides.
This video got recommended to me. I checked the description and had no idea that a separate accident had occurred. Saddened by the loss and infuriated that no action had been done after this (2021) accident.
Lol the guy at 4:00 being like "maybe this will make me feel something...... nope"
Working in a park in Florida for a little bit now, I can say there are plenty of employees that take their jobs seriously. Unfortunately there's a small handful that do not and seem to forget peoples lifes are in our hands while they are riding. Thankfully they don't seem to stick around very long. I hope the person on their phone in the video either got their act together, or isn't working there anymore
These always scare me a bit, because even the greatly improved design offers zero protection to the riders in the event of a cable failure. While they moved the main point of the elastic tension. You still have constantly stressed unshielded cables in close proximity to and even attached to the ride vehicle. Kissimee got lucky in that the way the cable failed threw the flailing steel whip that was the severed cable away from the riders. A break more distal from the capsule itself would be horrific.
This is exactly what I thought. The snapped band could easily take a limb off.
Its mind boggling how poorly ride operators in small places like this operate.
I guess that's why there's a bad stereotype about "carnies", and small places like this probably aren't that different from carnivals.
Is it only small places guilty though?
@@TheRadioAteMyTV If you go to a big theme park (a Cedar Fair, Six Flags, Hersheypark, Kennywood, etc.) and see that kind of behavior you sir have a case to bring up to Guest Services and peoples' heads would roll. When I worked at Hersheypark as a ride operator if you so much as had a phone on your person, even if you were closed due to inclement weather, you'd be **FIRED** instantly!!!
@@LegendaryCollektor That is reassuring. Thank you.
@@b-chroniumproductions3177 These days the Traveling Fair Carnies are likely a lot more safety conscientious than the average amusement park teenaged seasonal help.
Who’s here after the drop tower accident?
Me
Interesting video. I started at cedar Point in 1992, and food service, working at Transport Refreshments. I skipped 93 and 94. I worked Raptor in 97-99, Demon Drop in 96, and Kiddy Kingdom in 95. I remember when the Giant wheel got moved from the railroad over to Park Operations. I skipped 2000 in order to start attending graduate and extended work at Oxford University, then returned for partial summers in 2001-2006, working at Food service management, training Food service employees on food safety and money handling. Hearing the words cedar Point brought back a lot of memories. Thank you.
Love this series, kinda sucks that bad events have to happens for the series, but I love this series soo much
My sister and stepdad did this exact slingshot back in 2018 and they had a good experience on it, scared but good, but it shocked me how the ride operators were turning and talking to my mom instead of fully watching the ride.
I really liked the explanation on how the slingshots work. Keep up the good work and quality videos!
Thanks!
I’ve never had a desire to ride one of these (getting launched into the air at a high speed just isn’t my thing), and the fact that I’ve seen and heard of multiple accidents and close calls has just led to me being terrified of them altogether, and my anxiety goes through the roof whenever I see people go on them
Agreed,no way no how would I get on one gives me the heeby jeebies just talking about it😮
The mention of the highest slingshot at icon park aged so badly…
In regards to the recent drop tower i incident: The restraints were properly secured on that drop tower; he was just too big for the ride, very tall and far exceeding the manufacturer weight limit. You can see in videos/pictures taken of him before the ride started in his seat that there's just way too much space between the bottom of his shoulder harness and the seat. The momentum of the fall pulled him right out through that gap.
3:13 the kid did better than the dad💀
3:55 mmm doubtful
I have ridden the Sling Shot ride at Cedar Point and felt very comfortable doing so after seeing the manner in which the ride was being operated. But, then again Cedar Point has always made me feel comfortable as their standards are noticeably high. I would no doubt be more skeptical, and think twice, before riding a ride like this somewhere else, especially if I have no way to measure or ascertain their commitment to safety. If I even considered it, I would be online checking for not only reviews, but also information on the ride operator and its operating history. About as much as I do if I was going to bungee jump somewhere, especially outside of the United States as laws and relevant certifications can be wildly different. Interesting video... thank you!
Howdy! I actually work for Funtime over at icon park. I can say that though I haven’t worked for them during the incident, they stress heavily for all three attractions at icon park (the new free fall, Slingshot, and existing Starflyer) to be checked and double checked as much as possible for each cycle. Typically the Starflyer there would be 2 different workers checking each restraints to ensure no loose articles go up or see if any restraint issues may occur. For the new Slingshot, they routinely untwist the cables right when they “park” the chairs on the launch pad. And before expanding the springs they double check them. Similar to the Starflyer, free fall typically has 2 people double checking restraints though not as necessary. I can’t say much about Kissimmee or magical midway as I haven’t worked there but I can safely say that icon park’s 3 fun time rides are extremely well kept and safety is our biggest priority for everyone 👍🏻
Thank you so much for the information! I was planning to ride the slingshot and drop tower at icon park in a few weeks and this makes me a lot more excited to ride them!
@@CoasterCollege of course! Enjoy the rides! They are so much fun! The Free Fall is in my top 3 rides in Florida and both new rides are a must do. Night rides are amazing but Day rides make you realize just how high up you actually are.
Not sure when but I just saw a video of a guy falling off the freefall it seems to be recent since everyone is posting it... gave me goosebumps honestly and I watch all types of horror but that one seems like a clip out of a movie scene turned into real life, poor guy I could imagine the horror as he was falling and the boosted chills he received as if it wasn't enough chills from just being on the big tower fall.
@@jrolex4488 just happened tonight, I'm still processing it. I feel horrible knowing that nothing changed at Slingshot group.
Wow thats crazy! I just saw he's a minor thats sad to go out like that trying to enjoy your childhood and some bull crap like that happens I would go insane knowing that happened to my son and I'm all about the thrill but stuff like that just turns my stomach and make me think twice now a days, much prayers to their family I know damn well a sue is coming!!
I wouldn't go to icon park period. RIP Tyre Sampson. 🙏🕊
I rode the funtime slingshot at my home park Canada's Wonderland around 2017 and it felt very safe. That being said, Cedar Fair usuallyhas a very good track record when it comes to ride safety and the same can't be said for other locations. I would definitely be cautious of these rides and do some research before going on.
Funtime SlingShots when operated correctly are perfectly safe, so a cedar fair park like that is a great place to ride one!
Another great video. As scary as these accidents are, I really like learning how and why they happened.
On a side note, I know you said you operated these rides, but have you ever been on a slingshot yourself? Just curious haha. I could never do it myself.
I have test rode our slingshot, it's really wild!
I don't live far from Orlando, so I've passed by this thing quite a few times, but I never actually heard about this accident! Glad no one was hurt, but the lack of public availability of such reports in Florida is pretty alarming
That is because of politicians and their lobbyists. Florida is a major tourist destination as you know living in close proximity to Orlando and the owners of these rides would not want to have that information available to the public because it would hurt their business and in turn hurt the politicians campaign money..
I wish everyone operator was like you! Great video! These types are my favs
Dude you are the best informative coaster channel out there
Thank you!
Love your channel so much. Love the "what happened" series
I love that this channel started as someone just wanting to share his love of roller coasters and has become a major source of holding the amusement park industry accountable. I hope amusement park executives are watching your videos
So a ride had redundant design, over engineered cable, it broke, no injuries, controlled decent. So a great ride. I wanna ride it now
That's one way to look at it!
6:46 love the shirt
Slingshots scare me because of the fact they have little to no protection for your neck, everytime I see those viral videos of someone screaming or passed out their necks look like they’re about to snap when they’re flung around like that.
This channel is awesome. Thanks for the quality content!
Thanks for this video. I will never ride that ride again, not because it's too scary but because the staff is extremely negligent.
I’d never ride a sling shot, everything about them is unsafe.
The design and ride concept is generally a lot harder to make safe than other rides - although developers have made great progress in recent years.
The staff are always poorly trained, paid & therefore unmotivated.
They cost a lot to ride.
At which point I’d rather just pay to take a skydive or bungee jump which is probably much safer nowadays.
Sky diving is the most exciting thing I have ever done and have been hooked since my first tandem jump when I was learning and training to solo dive. Do it at least once in your life. You will know how a hawk feels when it dives for prey and the views from 13,800 feet up are absolutely spectacular especially during sun rise or sunset. If you have the opportunity and work up the courage (it takes a heck of a lot to work up) the experience is out of this world. Just make sure to jump somewhere reputable like Sky Dive Zephyrhills (that is where I learned to jump and jump often) it is a must do on a bucket list. Be warned that accidents have occurred but are few and far between. Like I said once you work up the courage it is just amazing. I started jumping there back in 2010 and they host jumpers from all over the world. The only other place I would recommend is Sky Dive Dubai only because they operate very safe and with many seasoned divers from all over the world plus seeing the palm island and burj khalifa from 13,800 feet is pretty wild too. I have not bungee jumped yet but it is planned for summer of 2022...
I'm here for it. I so missed your what really happened series. It's fascinating. And that's coming from someone who hates riding coasters.
Glad to be back!
I’ve rode this exact one.
Had a ton of fun. Never knew about this accident beforehand. Still one of my favorite ride experiences.
I work at a travelling fair as first response, when it comes around each year. I’ve had two big incidents, one of them being on the type of ride that spins around with sets of seats on arms that fly up and down, think a very intense Disney dumbo ride. The other was a slingshot. The spinner ride was the worst, but the slingshot was the most terrifying, pacing on the ground, all of the emergency services worried as we tried to figure out how the HELL we’re going to get them down.
As a Sling Shot ride operator at Six Flags Mexico, I can say it is part of our operation to check that the cables are not twisted before each cycle. We can launch the cycle if it's twisted only a little bit (like one or two twists), but no more. Personally I prefer to have it not twisted at all hahaha
Also we are absolutely not allowed to move from our control panels once the cycle has started, thus meaning that we cannot untwist the cables once the spring mechanism is fully prepared (or even in the process).
Also, I want to add that I know that attraction very well in the technical aspect, and I can say that your investigation is pretty accurate.
Finally, I'm glad no one got hurt in that occurrence.
By the way, great videos, man! :)
Us flags have many deaths under their belts. Most are exceedingly brutal, like the Hellavator incident.....
Well I know never to ride YOUR slingshot
I have have skydiving a few times and went on one of these slingshot rides once, the slingshot was actually scarier than skydiving.
I love your what really happened videos. It’s the reason I subscribed. Hope you continue to do of them!!!
I have no plans to stop anytime soon!
Creepy that this is a video about an accident and icon park gets a notable mention.
3:50 :x i don't think that new slingshot is gonna get much business now. icon park needs to be shut down after what happened to that poor kid.
The whole park for one inept operator, and shoddy restraint system for a high powered thrill ride?
A bit overkill.. maybe tear down ride..but that's it.
Hopefully icon Park will not be getting any new rides and we shutting down considering we just had a second incident of someone dying in the past 2 years at icon this past week
Thank you for posting, your videos ate always so informative! very interesting that Florida is not legally required to disclose ride accident information to the public. It's astonishing how many visit (I'll note the top 3 imo) kissimmee, Disney and Universal daily without knowing the full background!
Ofcourse its obscured, It sound verry american to hide imporant information that can hurt the ritch parks like disney and universal....
Four people died on a water ride in Altoona, Iowa last year. A story covered on that would be good. Not to mention another person dying on the same ride a few years prior.
Love Old Town. My family loves to stop by there every time we go to Orlando. I’ve always wanted to go on the slingshot ride, but hopefully they improve first. Safety should be the top priority
Damn, the references to Icon Park...
I worked in the crane manufacturing industry for 15 years and have seen wire ropes break so many times over the years and would never trust a ride that relies on on them for safety
I think the important thing to note here, is that even though the ride malfunctioned, no one was injured. So the updates made to the cabling systems and redundancies are working. That said, I'm an avid coaster rider and you would never catch me on a slingshot ride. nope.
With the recent accident at ICON I don’t think a sling shot will be good there.
as a ride operator at a major theme park, we may not have one of these but we have one of those sky dive towers. you get in a suit and drop from the top.
i remember going to ride it before work and i was joking around with my supervisor and then she suddenly got really serious and started telling me all the details of the basic spiel they have to tell.
everyone was treating it like the park was open, even though we’re all friends and coworkers they immediately got super serious about it, understandably so.
their safety training got drilled into us and then comes the moral side of it where peoples lives are in my hands. i worked in the kids section and called maintenance multiple times for things that turned out to be normal, but it was my first season and i was scared my ride was broken, and that someone would get hurt.
operating rides is so much fun, but the attention to detail and just the mindset of “i could kill someone if im not careful” is important.
edit- i really do love the way you explain though. i’ve always been curious about these slingshot rides. good job!
Awesome!!! Thanks for making more 💙
I'd wonder about lubrication of those swivel joints. I'm not saying state inspectors miss things, but more easily hidden problems can slip through.
I rode this exact ride in Kissimee when I was about 8 or 9, I remember the man telling me my seat belt wasn't in and then he set the ride off. Still traumatised to this day
Great job on this video!!! 👍 Nice work!
Very entertaining and fun to watch. Thanks for posting this.
Where can I see a list of rides you've operated? SO INTERESTING!
Also, are there rides you would not want to operated again and why?
I truly enjoy your videos.
It's not too long a list: Magnum xl-200, Gemini, Sky Ride, pipe scream, lake Erie eagles, monster, mine ride, camp snoopy, waveswinger. I would be happy operating any of these rides again.
@@CoasterCollege That is a very impressive list, just as your videos are! Thank you for responding. There's so much I'd like to know!
@@CoasterCollege Cool you worked at Camp Snoopy before it became Nick Universe. I was there a few months ago and the girl at the control panel had her foot propped up and had a drink near the control panel. And when I say girl, I mean that in the literal sense, like 16 or 17. Is it really that hard to hire someone in their mid-20s and pay them at least 40k a year to actually be compentent and make sure the ride is safe?
@@dudeguy7347 he means Camp Snoopy at Cedar Point which never had a Nickelodeon theme.
@@timk987 damn didnt know there was more than one Camp Snoopy
2:06 where can i find this video?? i want to know if the girls okay that looks terrifying
Avoid Slingshot Group Attractions, learn more about the recent drop tower accident here: czcams.com/video/1MpAUQlrdaM/video.htmlsi=L2tV2n_Tq3549tmJ
The scary part for me is that hours before this incident happened i went on this exact one since i was doing rides at funspot next to it. It’s terrifying to think that that could’ve been me.
I remember the slingshot rides because my little sister rode one she was 6 or so. She was a total thrillseeker and was really mad that she couldn’t ride a lot of rides at Disney. So my dad and her went and rode this as consolation. She ended up riding it twice in a row. Come to think of it, it might have actually been this exact slingshot, although this was well over a decade ago.
Probably this been up for many years
6:42 Does his shirt say "Virginity Rocks"? LOL Dude, you may want to do the deed before going on that death trap of a ride.
I live right next to old town and was waiting for your vid on it, thank you
I currently work at a theme park in Utah that has one of these rides. After going through one day of training, "I WILL NOT BE OPERATING THIS RIDE" by my choice. I do not feel safe around it personally. There are a lot of features missing on our ride that are shown in this video, to name one is the plexi on each side protecting the riders. Thank you for providing this video to the public.
It’s horrible to see that this park allows ride ops to have their phones on them. At the park I work at, if a manager were to see us with a phone at all, even if it’s in our pocket, then we would get fired on the spot.
Same here, done pocket searches on associates before, its serious stuff.
@@CoasterCollege it really is. If I would ever see anyone with a phone out while operating a ride I would report it to a supervisor or manager right away. I’m thankful I have never had to. All my co-workers and I take safety very seriously.
Why does it take 2 hours to get them down? Dangling up there for that long sounds like a nightmare even if you like rides and heights normally.
Probably planning how to get the riders out without injury. I would rather it take 4 hours and get out safe than rush me off and then I get hurt
hope they weren't hanging upside down
Yuk, so hard watching this and hearing your wrap up following this week's events
I went on one of the very first models back in the early 90's at the Puyallup fair, people were so scared back then.
Could have just been wear and tear... I've never heard of a sling shot incident before! My question is how often are the cables switched out for new ones if ever!
This accident aged like milk. Slingshot group is a big nono.
I’ve done this ride twice, headache 🤕 inducing trash 🗑. Never again. Great video with solid info.
Love your Videos!!!
Yeaaah I'm never gonna go on any kind of ride that just SHOOTS me into the air like that. I'd probably have a heart attack. Just nope.
The idea of being hurrled in circles in a ball not being able to stop, its to intense for me. When I saw the first one as a child, I decided then and there I would never ever ride such a ride. Ever.
I love these slingshot rides, it's the only ride I go on when the carnival is in town
I think you have a very valid argument. If the cables had been checked, there would have been no reason for it to have snapped. Since other rides had not been closed for long while being checked, there is a very good chance that it wasn't due to an issue with wear and tear
To be corrected these have been around since the 1980s it's just most of them or permanently ground-mounted they were made up of Steel i-beams and extension Bloom's off of cranes and I know because I've seen one of the oldest one still traveling around the country and that one is from 1980 12 years before I was born and it still runs the only difference between the ejector seat at Kissimmee and the actual eject or is that the ejector from 1980 you have to make your own bands and bungees for it which means you have to replace the bungees every two launches where is an ejector seat those ones are steel cables hooked to Springs or high tension-made nylon bungees custom-made in batches specifically for the length size in maximum weight of the ride that's the only difference
Curious when the last time those steel cables were replaced, usually they a fairly specific service interval for replacement, as far as I know anyway. So Id say either operator error in not properly inspecting the ride before each cycle, or not servicing the cables as needed.
But given the way this state works, even if those reports were published, we would likely see them sometime between never and the second coming.
Great video, I learned a lot!
Though I live way up the east coast, on a visit to Orlando around the new year of 2021, I rode Kissimmee. It was my first time on a slingshot ride. I had a great time, rode twice while my two sisters took turns with me (I paid for all of us so it was fair). I’m happy to say nothing went wrong and the view was incredible. I was very happy to go on the world’s tallest slingshot at the time for my first ever ride on one. This was before icon park really grew or even began construction on its new slingshot and the unfortunate drop tower, so I can say I rode the tallest of the time.