Roller Coaster Riders Left Hanging

Power Outage Strands 12 Upside Down On The X-Coaster At Magic Springs

(AP)  A dozen riders on an Arkansas roller coaster spent half an hour hanging upside down — 150 feet above the ground — after a power outage shut down the attraction.

It took about 30 minutes for the city Fire Department to rescue the riders using a ladder truck Saturday evening, said Aundrea Crary, spokeswoman for the Springs & Crystal Falls amusement park.

Spectators cheered when the riders were brought to the ground from the highest point of a loop on the X-Coaster, but one passenger threw up after reaching safety.

The X-Coaster was one of several rides brought to a halt by the outage that originated somewhere near the park.

"You could tell who got off the (X-Coaster) because their faces were red," said Angela Salter. She was riding the Gauntlet, another coaster, and said park employees worked quickly to free her.

The park resumed normal operations, although the X-Coaster remained closed.

One X-Coaster passenger, Jay Plummer, 37, was taken to St. Joseph Mercy Medical Center in Hot Springs after complaining of neck pain and a headache.

"It was very scary," said his girlfriend, Connie McBride. "I love the amusement park, but I will never get on the X-Coaster again."

The park has experienced outages before, but usually they last only seconds, said Dan Aylward, Magic Springs president and general manager.

Entergy Corp. was investigating but crews found no faulty wiring.

"The cause could be a (tree) limb or as simple as an animal (on the lines)," said Mark Hunt, general manager of customer service for Entergy. "We could find no faults, but we are going to continue to investigate until we find the cause."

[tiffercita]

Oh, guess what I just saw. A 10 year old girl died after getting off of a ride at Six Flags. I bet you have all heard of that place. She had a history of heart problems. Should the family be able to sue?!

[tiffercita]

I was born and raised in Hot Springs. I used to go to the park when I was a child. The park did close down for several years, but it was bought out, COMPLETELY re-done, and re-opened. In all the years I have lived there I have NEVER heard of any kind of major incedent. The power went out plain and simple. It happens all the time no matter where you live. If the power went out in your house and a visitor fell down your stairs would it be right for them to sue? No one was injured because the park did their job and had the proper saftey devices installed. It was in no way their fault. God did not call the park owner that morning and say "Hey, I am going to shut your power off for a little while this afternoon, make sure there is no one on the rides". I now live out of the state but will be visiting in the next month with my roomate who has never been to Hot Springs and guess what is still going to be on our agenda for our trip. Yep, that's right, Magic Springs.

[jetranger7]

YOU SEE, I WOULD OF OFFERED THEM ALL MILK SHAKES WHILE HANGING UPSIDE DOWN, NOW THAT WOULD'VE BEEN ANOTHER FEAT IN ITSELF, AND OFFERED THEM SOME FOOD WHILE HANGING UPSIDE DOWN TOO,,,HAAA CAN YOU IMAGINE THAT !!! EATING UPSIDE DOWN !!!

[summersmama]

are all of ya'll crazy... it happened and it was for a reason! God took care of those people.... and why would it be Bush's fault? rollercoasters have been around for years.... I myself don't ride them, but everyone around me does and it's just the same as any other ride.... it's just maybe some of ya'll can't handle it! Yes this ride has had this problem in the past yr... 3 times to be exact.... now it's the theme park owners who need to say it's time for it to go.... and move onto the next one.... this ride was so popular, that the youth group that we took there on saturday, had to stand in line for a while, and still didn't get to ride because they got tired and hungry!

[summersmama]

The part on the roller coaster ride about it taking the fire dept. 30 min. to rescue them is a bunch of crock! We took our youth at our church in ms. there for the day and we watched the whole thing... my husband is a firefighter and even he knew the ladders would not reach.... rope rescue only might work.... they had to wait until the power came back on and then they were realeased and finished the ride! It was a scary thing... we as spectators were scared, but as we stopped and joined hands and prayed, we knew God was going to take care of them.... and he did! If you're gonna tell the whole world about something, make sure you tell it right... or don't tell it at all!!!!

[beanerman4]

Since you brought it up, yes it is Bush's fault. As the Decider, he could have banned roller coasters, even if against the will of the people.

[jenny1011]

Oops! i'll never get on a roller coaster again.



Jenny
http://www.spaml.com

[lwsnscott16]

My milk was sour this morning...

Must have been George's fault also?

[tscm98]

"The cause could be a (tree) limb or as simple as an animal (on the lines),"

Maybe a bush was on the lines!? Or the animal was hiding behind a bush??

[novellite2]

Oh, and George Bush never signed legislation banning these rides, so it is indeed his fault.

(Is someone going to ask who John Galt is now?)

;)

[novellite2]

OK, I did some research (doh!) and here is what I found:
This ride was built last year. (2006)
It looks like, from the description of the ride, they were just about to embark on a 65 MPH vertical drop (they were going towards the right on the picture), so there must be a lot of energy pushing that car to the top (lefting things = hard, letting them fall = easy).
Since the ride is brand new, the talk of "poor maintenance" and such.
My favorite line in this whole description (see below) and the situation of yesterday: "makes it possible to experience inverted ride elements without shoulder restraints"

Here's the link: http://www.ultimaterollercoaster.com/coasters/yellowpages/coasters/x-coaster_magicsp.shtml

[gimmeapaw1]

I am just waiting for someone to somehow link this back to it really being Bush's fault.

[toolmangler-2009]

If you've never heard of Entergy Corp. You don't live in the south. Pure and simple.
Posted by Natasha041 at 02:36 PM : Jun 11, 2007


Sorry sweety, I have lived in central NC for most of my 67+ years and I never heard of Entergy corp either. And I was allowed out at least twice a year. (grin)

[beanerman4]

Thanks for correcting me on the size of Entergy. You guessed it, I am not from the south!

Cedar Point, OH is my place, go every year. My wife and then ten year old got stuck on the Raptor (not upside down) but high up on a platform for about twenty minutes.

We were told an auto brake went on because the timing was off between the trains.

It was an eerie feeling, watching from below with my youngest not tall enough to ride. I could tell by my wife's scream that it was their train that went past us, however did not return.

When restarted, and back at the station, the operator said for their inconvenience, they all could ride again, if they wanted to, without standing in line. No one got off.

[truearkansan]

I have lived in Arkansas all my life. I am now 30 and I grew up going to this theme park. They have since changed ownership and spent a lot of money to make this park great. I have taken my own children to this theme park many... times. My oldest child loves the roller coasters. But as a parent when you let your child on those rides, yes, you are taking a risk. Yes, I would be devastated if something happened, but if it was something like a power outage , which is out of the hands of park officials, I would not sue. You as a park patron have to accept the choice you are making when you enter those gates. I will say that we will wait to hear officially, if the mishap was on the part of Entergy or Magic Springs before we head down to Hot Springs. I would bet anything it's Entergy. Most people in Arkansas can only hope to do away with Entergy in our state. Magic Springs will continue to thrive this summer and for many to come.

[natasha041]

If you've never heard of Entergy Corp. You don't live in the south. Pure and simple.

[tscm98]

Hey Beaner, I was thinking the same thing. All of these people discussing law suits etc. and I'm thinking "could be as 'simple' as a tree limb or an animal"? Are you kidding me??? I wouldn't want that guy talking to the press if I were his employer or the amusement park!And I sure as you-know-what would not be going to that amusement park, or any other place that was supplied by that energy company that could hang me upside down for 1/2 hour or in any other way prevent me from leaving when I chose!

[r0welchjr]

All this talk of suing... I am not sure about Arkansas law, but generally, you assume the risk at an amusement park. I would say that without the negligence of park employees you wouldn't have a chance in heck to win.

[mitch0927]

Inkstick30,

Good try, but you need one more variable before coming up with that solution. The UPS's you are referring to could never handle that kind of current. Now, but getting a FERRUPS System and having 10 12Volt Batteries in series, you would have sufficient current to finish up the ride.

Have the company purchase a UPS for each major ride in case of power failure, the UPS will provide sufficient power to complete the loop. It is an inexpensive solution.

Contact:www.powerware.com