An amusement park ride is a far cry from a chemical process, but this horrible incident is one we can all learn from! A 6-year old little girl died on September 5, 2021 while riding a drop tower-style ride that uses gravity to create freefall. The two (2) ride operators, which I am assuming were either teenagers or young adults themseleves made some mistakes which arguably “were just waiting to happen”. The causes of this accident were found to be:
- Operator 1 did not prepare the seatbelts before allowing Ms. Estifanos and the other passengers to be seated. Because of this inaction Ms. Estifanos sat on a previously unoccupied seat, on top of the still locked seatbelts.
- Both Operator 1 and 2 did not follow the operating procedures noted in the manufacturer’s operating manual, which is a violation of Amusement Ride and Devices Regulations. Because of this the HMD seatbelts were not positioned over Ms. Estifanos.
- Training for both Operators 1 and 2 did not appear to emphasize the inherent risks of the ride, nor did it include reviewing the manufacturer’s operating manual, which is a violation of Amusement Ride and Devices Regulations. Because of this Operators 1 and 2 did not fully understand their responsibility regarding passenger safety. Not having a complete understanding of the HMI screen and reasons for the various errors, the operators were not equipped to operate and dispatch the ride.
- Having multiple operators making decisions and participating at different steps within the ride cycle was unusual and took the focus away from passenger safety.
- The restraint system (seatbelts) and the accompanying documentation (manufacturer’s operating manual) contributed to the accident in the following ways:
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- The manufacturer’s operating manual does not instruct operators on how to properly address errors. The failure of the manual to instruct operators on how to address errors hinders operators’ ability to effectively utilize the safety in place within the system.
- Based on the location of pieces of the seatbelts, it is possible to lock both the seatbelts when they are incorrectly positioned.
- Neither the manufacturer’s manual nor the operating manual instructed that it was the operator’s responsibility to buckle the unmonitored seatbelt across the passenger.
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