VertiGo Collapse at Cedar Point
Here's the story from the Associated Press.
Here's the story from the Associated Press.
I've heard, in private e-mail, that this means all other VertiGos, including those at Knott's and Magic Mountain will be going down for an engineering review.
From Mike k
Posted January 16, 2002 at 4:37 PM
I hope Cedar Point Rebuilds the part that fell. It sure was a fun ride.
From Mr. D. T.
Posted January 16, 2002 at 7:03 PM
Hey, if the park is closed for the winter and parts of the tower collapse to the ground, I wouldn't suspect that this is a sign of terrorism. Just like New York's World Trade Center was enough of an uproar already!
I have a few guesses: either the tower was poorly maintained and the moth and rust corrupted it to the point when it can collapse under its own weight, or there could've been strong winds during the parks closure to subtract some of the ride's support.
"Luckily, no one was hurt" is right.
I DO appreciate the closure of all VertiGo's in the country for a safety inspection, because rides without safety are not fun. Besides, how many jobs are done in the parks when they are closed for the winter?
I'm surprised that only PARTS of the ride fell, and NOT THE ENTIRE THING, but the damage caused by this incident will need to be repaired before the park's opening.
From Mike k
Posted January 16, 2002 at 8:24 PM
I think there was high winds. Cedar Point does a wonderful job maintaining rides.
You know, given the problems we had at Disney World with Thunder Mountain whenever the temperature approached freezing, I wonder just how much wear, tear and stress ride supports and systems suffer every winter in the northern parks.
Granted, the parks are closed. But just sitting there in the cold, wet and snow, with high winds, has got to put a lot of stress on a ride.
Would someone with some maintenance experience at a northern park like to talk about this? What kind of maintenance and rehab work has to be done to protect outdoor rides from the elements? What are the risks that rides in northern climates face? How does exposure to inclement weather affect a ride's life expectancy?
I read somewhere that steel-framed rides are affected by EVERYTHING. Stress. Cold. Heat. Maintaining these rides is supposed to be a pain in the butt. Remember that Dueling Dragons was having problems recently with Ice. It would be interesting to hear how these things are dealt with, though.
From Anonymous
Posted January 18, 2002 at 1:50 PM
From working in the amusement industry I also know that the maintenance people at Cedar Point are excellent. I think this is more of a manufacturer issue. I know that S&S Power blew up their coaster in Japan during the testing Stages. The poles of the Vertigo flex a lot more during normal operation than they do in any wind. The cold should not have much of an effect on those poles unless they really underdesigned them. I think it should raise a lot of flags when a ride that new falls apart. It only operated for a partial season.
From Anonymous
Posted January 19, 2002 at 12:02 AM
I HAVE WORKED IN THE AMUSEMENT INDUSTRY SINCE 1987.
IT WOULD TAKE UN-BELEIVEABLE CONDIDTIONS TO MAKE A TOWER SNAP LIKE THAT. NOT TO MENTION THE FACT THAT IT HAD ADDITIONAL TOWERS CONNECTED TO IT. MY SUPERVISOR RECENTLY RETURNED FROM THE ANNUAL AIMS CONVENTION WHICH WAS IN PROGRESS WHEN THIS HAPPENED. HE CAME BACK WITH AN INSIDE SCOOP ! THE WIND SPEED WAS AROUND 4 MPH AT THE TIME THE TOWER FELL. SO THE WIND DID NOT BLOW IT DOWN. THE BREAKING-POINT WAS ABOUT 40 FEET OFF THE GROUND. THE STEEL SNAPPED IN-TWO ALMOST AS IF IT HAD BEEN CUT WITH A TOOL. HE SAID THAT SEVERAL ENGINEERS LEFT THE CONVENTION IMMEDIATELY TO INSPECT THE DAMAGE SITE. IT REPORTADELY FELL ON A COASTER THAT WAS NEAR-BY. CEDAR POINT IS A LEADER IN THE INDUSTRY AND MAINTAINS A WELL RESPECTED MAINTENANCE PROGRAM...BESIDES...THE ONLY WAY WEATHER COULD HAVE CAUSED THIS TO HAPPEN ( other than a tornado etc. ) THE STEEL WOULD HAVE HAD TO BE BARE AND RUSTED, OR, IT MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN PROPPERLY PREPARED (sand blasted, cleaned, etc.) BEFORE IT WAS PAINTED DURING THE RIDE'S MANUFACTURE WHICH COULD HAVE HIDDEN RUSTY AREAS UNDER THE PAINT. THE PARK THAT I WORK FOR PURCHASED A SHOOT THE SHOOTS WATER RIDE FROM A WELL RESPECTED RIDE COMPANY 2 YEARS AGO. THE RIDE SUPPORT TOWERS CAME TO US PRIMER COATED THEREFORE LEAVING OUR STAFF TO APPLY THE TOP COAT OF PAINT. RECENTLY...THE PAINT BEGAN TO FALL OFF SEVERAL OF THE KEY SUPPORT STRUCTURES. I WAS GIVEN THE JOB OF RE-PAINTING THE POLES. AS I SANDED THE RUSTED AREAS, I FOUND THAT THE STEEL HAD NOT BEEN SAND BLASTED, SANDED, OR CLEANED BEFORE THE PRIMER HAD BEEN APPLIED. I FOUND SEVERAL LARGE AREAS OF GREASE UNDER NEATH THE PRIMER COAT. I WAS LITERALLY RIPPING 1 FOOT SECTIONS OF PAINT OFF WITH A 2 INCH PUTTY KNIFE. LUCKILY WE WERE ABLE TO CATCH AND CORRECT THIS PROBLEM BEFORE IT COULD BECOME A DANGEROUS SITUATION. ONLY TIME AND INSPECTION WILL TELL THE TRUTH ON THIS UNUSUAL TOWER COLLAPSE. IT MAY BE THE FAULT OF THE MANUFACTURER OR IT MAY NOT. WHO KNOWS ? SEVERAL RIDE COMPANIES HAVE WENT BELLY-UP DURING THE LAST FEW MONTHS AS A RESULT OF CUTTING CORNERS TO MAKE MORE MONEY. IF YOU EXPECT A PARK TOO INVEST A MILLION DOLLARS OR MORE INTO A RIDE... IT SHOULD BE PROPERLY ENGINEERED AND BUILT TOO LAST !
From Anonymous
Posted January 22, 2002 at 12:35 PM
Does anyone have resources on, say, a Magnum web cam web site (that happens to overlook vertigo) or perhaps a recent, up to date article or reliable posting on the status of Vertigo? And JUST when i was truly building up my gumption to ride that dang thing too.... sheesh what a letdown....
From Anonymous
Posted January 30, 2002 at 1:22 PM
i am a seasonal employee at cedar point so i keep up with i alot of things in the off-season. although an exact cause hasn't been announced, it has been said that wind had nothing to do with it. one tower collpased about 65 feet up and nearly hit the magnum. other than that nothng is being said as of now.
From Anonymous
Posted February 2, 2002 at 1:13 AM
If you're right, and it nearly hit the Magnum, of all things, I am sure that quite a substantial number of individuals in Cedar Fair umm depositted a brick, in a way, if you know what I mean!! how insane and lucky. I hope that confidence is not overwhelming prudence.
From Anonymous
Posted March 10, 2002 at 1:42 PM
If the tower broke, then it wasn't strong enough to begin with. The towers should have been stonger. The VertiGo ride has a small nominal fee, in the kast times I've gone to Knotts or any other place that have VertiGo i see it closed. And by inspecting the seats I couldn't figuer out how the ride worked. it seemed against the laws of pyshics, the towers are to thin near the top and the the weight of passengers and wind conditions can break the ride and kill the riders. hello? next time do your math before you waste millions building a ride and then take it down
Why nbot condesce it to two towers, creating the same sling - shot action and making the seat spin freely, instead of controling it? all in favor?
From Anonymous
Posted March 10, 2002 at 2:42 PM
It's not necessarily that the towers weren't strong enough to begin with. Mere winds can topple any bridge if not constructed properly - remember tht bridge that rippled to breaking due to winds? That bridge was strong enough. The winds weren't incredibly powerful but they did cause a building movement within the bridge that caused its collapse.
From Anonymous
Posted July 24, 2003 at 8:43 PM
My name is doug and i was the first guest and non Cedar Point employee to ride vertigo. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life and i was sad to see it leave. The whole weekend it was supposed to open, my friends and i kept bugging the workers to let us be the first to ride it. On our last day of our vacation, it opened and i was the first to ride it. I was looking forward to riding it this year again but now they have top thrill dragster and i think i will be able to get over the loss.
From Anonymous
Posted September 7, 2003 at 9:37 PM
I was fortunate enough to ride the Vertigo at Knotts Berry Farm in CA and it was the best thrill ride I have ever been on. I can't believe that it closed so quickly. There is also one at Six Flags Magic Mountain which is closed. Hopefully they will come out with something better soon other than a coaster.
grupotactico
'VertiGo' ride tower collapses at Cedar Point Park
(Monday, January 14, 2002) - At Cedar Point Park in Sandusky, Ohio, a 265-foot-tall steel tower, which is part of the support structure for one of the park's newest thrill rides, collapsed to the ground. The park is closed for the season, and no one was in the area to witness the accident. Park officials say that the bottom 65-foot section of the tower remains intact, and that the collapse caused only minimal damage to the surrounding area.
VertiGo was manufactured by S&S Power of Logan, Utah and is the first if its kind to be installed at a park. It opened at Cedar Point in August. The ride is a slingshot-type ride which features a triangular carriage which seats up to six passengers. Riders reach speeds of up to 50 miles per hour as the carriage is launched in between the towers to heights of up to 300 feet.
Cedar Point, S&S Power, and the Ohio Department of Agriculture are investigating the cause of the accident.
And here was the last report that I know of about the Vertigo.
S&S Power announces VertiGo engineering review
(Wednesday, March 6, 2002) - S&S Power has announced the findings of the independent engineering review of the 'VertiGo' ride at Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio. As previously reported, one of the tower legs of the VertiGo ride developed a crack during the off-season, causing a portion of a tower leg to break. There were no injuries associated with the incident and there have been no injuries during the thousands of cycles that the ride has been in operation at Cedar Point and at two other major amusement parks.
Internationally recognized engineering firms and experts were engaged to investigate independently the cause of the incident with the VertiGo attraction at Cedar Point and to provide third-party recommendations for engineering modifications. The crack was determined to be caused by a vortex-shedding phenomenon that resulted from the towers standing during the off-season without the support of the attached passenger cart and cables or other support while the ride was not in use. Ultrasound inspection of the two similar rides that were in operation at two other amusement parks at the time of the incident at Cedar Point show that those rides have no evidence of vortex shedding, due to the continuous attachment of the passenger cart and cables. In conjunction with the independent engineering firms, S&S has developed methods that eliminate the circumstances that can create a vortex-shedding phenomenon.
Separately, Cedar Fair, the owner of Cedar Point and Knott’s Berry Farm, at which a second VertiGo attraction is also located, has indicated that, due to the publicity associated with the incident at Cedar Point, it will elect to remove the attractions from its parks and will not allow S&S to make the proposed modifications.
Stan Checketts, founder and Chief Executive Officer of S&S, stated, “It is a shame that guests at these two parks will not have the opportunity to enjoy the thrill of this ride in the upcoming season. Given the level and extent of outside engineering review performed in recent months, in my opinion, it is the safest amusement ride in the industry today. The thousands of people who have ridden the ride since it opened last year have expressed universal excitement, and there have been absolutely no incidents of rider safety complaints. We have several new sites opening this season and are pleased that park guests who love the ride will still be able to enjoy the experience.”
S&S Power has over 110 vertical rides in operation throughout the world.
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