Rollercoaster at North Carolina theme park is closed after huge CRACK is spotted in support pillar - Page 2

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Rollercoaster at North Carolina theme park is closed after huge CRACK is spotted in support pillar (Page 2 of 5)

Posted: 7/1/2023 8:51:42 PM EDT

[#1]

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Quoted:
BREAKING!!!

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By ain’t breaking, it’s broken.

Posted: 7/1/2023 8:52:19 PM EDT

[#2]

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Wonder what was the cause of this. Bad steel? Bad weld? Will this affect the relationship with the American company that does the fab work for B&M in the US?

What is the fix. Will they just put in a new support?

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Cracked at the weld HAZ. That cracked a while ago and the other half of the vertical fatigued rapidly due to over load.

They should all be inspected, it's probably not the only one starting to crack.

Posted: 7/1/2023 8:52:40 PM EDT

[#3]

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BREAKING!!!

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Attached File

Posted: 7/1/2023 8:56:08 PM EDT

[#4]

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Wrap some carbon fiber around it and it will be fine.

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That only works for submersibles.

Posted: 7/1/2023 8:59:56 PM EDT

[#5]

Glad it got caught before anybody was killed.

Posted: 7/1/2023 9:01:23 PM EDT

[#6]

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Meh, give me an 80a Harbor Freight stick welder, some 3/32 7018, and about 50' of leads....problem solved.

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That China steel will just crack on other side of your weld..

Posted: 7/1/2023 9:10:17 PM EDT

[#7]

“This is your roller coaster on crack.”

Posted: 7/1/2023 9:16:14 PM EDT

[#8]

Carowinds is like 2 miles from my house. Neighbor showed me that video today. Scary as hell!
Failed at the top weld joint where the column tubes/pipes were coped together, then the failure propagated down the length of the weld, then the vertical column failed at the saddle low point.

Looks like a fatigue failure at the top weld joint.

Posted: 7/1/2023 9:20:14 PM EDT

[#9]

Can they fix it with carbon fiber?

Posted: 7/1/2023 9:21:03 PM EDT

[#10]

Holee Sheet

Posted: 7/1/2023 9:21:06 PM EDT

[#11]

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BREAKING!!!

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Ha.

Posted: 7/1/2023 9:22:58 PM EDT

[#12]

Interesting loading , static is eccentric, dynamic is horizontal and appears to have caused the fracture in the fabrication . The resultant would be a little complex to figure . Maybe some thermal expansion load that wasn't figured in .

Posted: 7/1/2023 9:23:13 PM EDT

[#13]

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Quoted:
pros:

-It was still doing its job, mostly
-They shut the ride down before tragedy

cons:

-It was noticed by visitors rather than safety inspectors

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Sums it up.

Posted: 7/1/2023 9:24:01 PM EDT

[#14]

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A park patron saw it and alerted everyone. The park claims ‘they inspect their rides every morning’….sure they do.

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“Hey, Joe! Ride still there?”
“Yep.”
“We’re good!”

Posted: 7/1/2023 9:31:41 PM EDT

[#15]

Fury 325 POV 5K (Highest Quality) B&M Giga Coaster Carowinds, NC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyX6jzXSSSs

Posted: 7/1/2023 9:55:58 PM EDT

[#16]

I'm a huge roller coaster fan.

90% of what I ride at amusement parks are coasters,
and I find this news very unsettling.

Posted: 7/1/2023 9:58:39 PM EDT

[#17]

That's no crack, that's broken completely in half. Yikes!!

Posted: 7/1/2023 11:00:53 PM EDT

[#18]

Is it possible to do some sort of ultrasound verification of welds because I suspect that every single weld needs to be verified safe.

Posted: 7/1/2023 11:04:55 PM EDT

[#19]

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Is it possible to do some sort of ultrasound verification of welds because I suspect that every single weld needs to be verified safe.

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An inspection company needs to do an inspection of every attraction at the park as they are obviously negligent. The state should close the entire facility until inspections are complete.

Posted: 7/1/2023 11:09:35 PM EDT

[#20]

couple fish plates and some spray primer

Posted: 7/1/2023 11:09:45 PM EDT

[#21]

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An inspection company needs to do an inspection of every attraction at the park as they are obviously negligent. The state should close the entire facility until inspections are complete.

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Agree.

Posted: 7/1/2023 11:27:43 PM EDT

[#22]

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At least they didn't find crack between the operator's buttocks.

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Oh you lol

Posted: 7/1/2023 11:39:58 PM EDT

[#23]

Oh damn

Posted: 7/1/2023 11:43:30 PM EDT

[#24]

Just more white supremacy causing failure of amusement park rides.

This crack will affect people of color and members of underserved communities hardest.

Posted: 7/1/2023 11:46:34 PM EDT

[#25]

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Quoted:
BREAKING!!!

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nope..broken

Posted: 7/1/2023 11:58:58 PM EDT

[#26]

Quote History

Quoted:
I'm a huge roller coaster fan.

90% of what I ride at amusement parks are coasters,
and I find this news very unsettling.

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I spent some time in my college years working third shift (cleaning crew) at a theme park. One of the coasters had been there since the park opened and was a typical old school coaster with a truss framework supporting the track. I don't recall anyone mentioning anything more than generic maintenance issues with that coaster. A newer coaster was more exciting to ride and had support columns similar to the coaster in this thread. One night, I asked my supervisor what a maintenance crew was doing on that newer coaster. "Welding cracks." It was apparently normal for them to spend a night welding cracks (on that coaster) a few times each summer.

Posted: 7/2/2023 12:00:52 AM EDT

[#27]

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A park patron saw it and alerted everyone. The park claims ‘they inspect their rides every morning’….sure they do.

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They saw the fucker was still on the prop so I guess that's kind of an inspection.... Right?

Posted: 7/2/2023 12:02:03 AM EDT

[#28]

House on Haunted Hill - Roller Coaster Accident Scene (1080p)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zwr9OvE_Drg

Posted: 7/2/2023 12:05:29 AM EDT

[#29]

I was there last year and I wouldn't get on the fury. My son went around and around on his fast pass

Dont like intimidator either but you can see some nearby cities and aircraft coming into CLT atop both Fury and Intimidator. Afterburn (the one you hang from) is awesome.

was about 400-500 for fast passes x2 and parking; but it's the only way I ride man, no lines. sometimes people waiting in line give you a dirty look on your 3rd go round lol

Posted: 7/2/2023 12:09:53 AM EDT

[#30]

Now that’s not a small crack. That sucker is clear through the whole thing and displaced quite a bit.
Big coasters have BIG cracks.

Posted: 7/2/2023 12:27:10 AM EDT

[#31]

1. Poor Design?
2. Inferior Assembly?

Don't start telling me the steel was not quality material. No way.

Posted: 7/2/2023 12:55:11 AM EDT

[#32]

Quote History

Quoted:
Cracked at the weld HAZ. That cracked a while ago and the other half of the vertical fatigued rapidly due to over load.

They should all be inspected, it's probably not the only one starting to crack.

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This is exactly correct.

It can be fixed by welding it up and then I'd sleeve it just to add some extra strength, but I'd bet money there are other cracks.

Posted: 7/2/2023 12:59:20 AM EDT

[#33]

The broken column appears to be at the apex of a curve. Maybe they should have placed one at either side to take up the load.
I wonder if that column was already stressed when it was connected.

Posted: 7/2/2023 1:04:10 AM EDT

[#34]

Quote History

Quoted:
pros:

-It was still doing its job, mostly
-They shut the ride down before tragedy

cons:

-It was noticed by visitors rather than safety inspectors

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This, don't they inspect the rides daily?

Posted: 7/2/2023 1:12:19 AM EDT

[#35]

That had to make a pretty good sound when that happened.

Posted: 7/2/2023 1:12:37 AM EDT

[#36]

When I was young I went to Action Park. More than once.

Posted: 7/2/2023 1:50:37 AM EDT

[#37]

I'm more amazed that 'ride inspectors' found anything.

Posted: 7/2/2023 2:12:07 AM EDT

[#38]

I used to love amusement park rides as a kid. I went to six flags with my three boys recently, and a few of the rides scared the shit out of me. Not because of the G forces or fear of heights, but having seen how shitty/lazy maintenance people can be at their jobs.

Posted: 7/2/2023 2:44:36 AM EDT

[#39]

There’s a picture circulating now that someone took on June 24th showing it having a crack starting to form on that very support column. Why nothing was done then is worrisome to me since I rode Fury 325 twice last Saturday!

Posted: 7/2/2023 2:56:05 AM EDT

[#40]

On the bright side, at least people don't have to pay $250,000 for a ride.

Posted: 7/2/2023 3:18:32 AM EDT

[#41]

Attached File

Posted: 7/2/2023 7:33:31 AM EDT

[#42]

Looks like they got it fixed.

Attached File

Posted: 7/2/2023 7:38:56 AM EDT

[#43]

Quote History

Quoted:
Shit Chinese steel. Road that coaster end of last year.

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It looks more like a crappy weld.

Posted: 7/2/2023 8:29:05 AM EDT

[#44]

Quote History

Quoted:
pros:

-It was still doing its job, mostly
-They shut the ride down before tragedy

cons:

-It was noticed by visitors rather than safety inspectors

View Quote

Just like the Memphis I-40 bridge.

Posted: 7/2/2023 8:30:13 AM EDT

[#45]

I think the only story here is how the park missed this for days.

Things can break - I think it shows a solid design in the fact that it’s broke clean through at the apex of a turn and still didn’t end in disaster.

Posted: 7/2/2023 8:35:35 AM EDT

[#46]

Obviously the stress in that area exceeded capacity. Yikes. Complete failure. Wonder if failure was sudden or progressive

Posted: 7/2/2023 8:40:50 AM EDT

[#47]

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Obviously the stress in that area exceeded capacity. Yikes. Complete failure. Wonder if failure was sudden or progressive

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Why do you say that? It seems more like a weld or steel failure than the ride exceeding capacity as designed.

Posted: 7/2/2023 8:46:24 AM EDT

[#48]

I’m not a roller coaster designer or engineer but I did want to be one as a kid. I feel like they designed this backwards. There’s nothing really supporting where the force from the track is being pushed.

Attached File