Stampida accident article (Spanish)
DbleDip37
It's all I could find as of 1:30am 7-9-97.
http://www.elperiodico.es/EDICION/ED970709/CARP01/pag021f.htm
I'm pretty sure it's about the accident but I don't interpret Spanish all
that great........Can anyone out there confirm the contents of this
article?
Steven Wilson
I don't have time to do a full translation right now, but I'll summarize
the articles:
"No law governs 'Stampida'"
-- Port Aventura recognizes the legal vacuum and assures that it follows
US and British rules
-- A month earlier, the park prohibited a large (football) player of the
Dragons from riding
There is no Catalan regulation of the safety measures for rides such as
the Stampida roller coaster which produced a fatal accident Saturday.
Even though half a million people have ridden Stampida in its first
three months of operation, control over the ride depends solely on the
theme park management and the manufacturer.
Delegate Josep Maldonado stated that the government does not have
expertise in such matters and that the safety requirements that must be
met are set by the manufacturer and correspond to international
standards. The department of industry only oversees the state of the
power system that supplies the park with energy.
Ride safety at the park is an internal issue for the park management. A
park spokesman explained that they follow US standards for the quality
of materials and British standards for safety.
The investigation by the Guardia Civil confirms that the death of
Antonio David Vila Campos, 32, of the Canary Islands, was due to his
particular physical characteristics (weighing more than 264 lbs. with a
height of nearly 6 ft.)
Antonio David was thrown from the car at the start of the first curve
without the safety bar coming open. In addition, ride attendants
checked that his restraints were securely locked before starting the
fatal trip. Investigative sources explained that because of his obesity
, he might have been improperly positioned thus allowing him to be
ejected by centrifugal force.
Park spokesman Josep Maria Brugues said Monday that it wasn't clear to
him that excessively large persons were prohibited from riding Stampida
as is the case on the other large coaster Dragon Khan. Yesterday park
workers revealed that on the 16th of June a player on the Barcelona
Dragons footbal team (330 lbs. and over 6 feet tall) was not allowed to
ride Stampida, when he could not fit properly into the car. Last night
the park denied that the ride's builder, Custom Coasters, had advised
them not to allow obese riders.
--end of summary of first article--
Two related articles follow. One describes the effects of riding a
roller coaster. This is a summary of the third article:
"The family blames the park"
Francisco Martin, attorney representing the family, says that Port
Aventura is responsible for the fatal accident suffered by Antonio David
Vila. He said that if riders face certain risks, the park should not
allow them to ride. "But," he added, "they didn't stop Antonio David
from riding, they locked his safety restraints and sent him on his
way." He went on to say that if Port Aventura authorizes the ride to
go, then it must answer for the injuries or deaths that may result. The
lawyer also said that he has no doubt that the safety bars worked and
admitted that the deceased was obviously overweight.
The photo caption states that Stampida remains closed.
steven AT ibm DOT net
(adapt this for e-mail replies)
Steven Wilson
Steven Wilson
Steven Wilson
Shawn Mamros
WARNING: The following post (what I've written, not Steven's quote below)
is nothing but *pure speculation* on my part. I know nothing about the
accident in question, save what I've read here on r.r-c.
Steven Wilson <ste...@nothere.ibm.net> summarizes an article (originally
written in Spanish, of course):
>The investigation by the Guardia Civil confirms that the death of
>Antonio David Vila Campos, 32, of the Canary Islands, was due to his
>particular physical characteristics (weighing more than 264 lbs. with a
>height of nearly 6 ft.)
>
>Antonio David was thrown from the car at the start of the first curve
>without the safety bar coming open. In addition, ride attendants
>checked that his restraints were securely locked before starting the
>fatal trip. Investigative sources explained that because of his obesity
>, he might have been improperly positioned thus allowing him to be
>ejected by centrifugal force.
Am I correct in assuming that the Stampida train(s) is/are equipped with
seat dividers and individual ratcheting lap bars? If so, I think I have
a theory as to how the rider was "improperly positioned"...
I've seen quite a few examples recently where riders of sufficiently large
proportions have had difficulties getting into coaster trains equipped
with seat dividers. Consider, if you will, what would happen if such
a rider could not sit down all the way, and wound up sitting ON TOP OF
the seat divider. The rider's center of gravity could very well then
be above the sidewall of the train. Should there be any significant
lateral forces designed into the ride - or even some not-so-significant
laterals - such a rider would be in a dangerous position. Even if the
lapbar was closed and locked and did not fail, it would have been useless
for a rider in such a position - at best, it would have been down at the
level of the rider's knees, not sufficient to restrain him.
No one should be allowed to ride in such a position, of course. But I
suspect that, in this case, for a number of reasons, the train most
likely left the station with the rider in that position.
A rather chilling thought: If my assumptions are correct, think for a
moment about how the story would have turned out if the train had been
equipped with no seat dividers and a "traditional" single-across, non-
ratcheting lapbar - that rider would still be with us today. Food for
thought...
-Shawn Mamros
E-mail to: mam...@mit.edu
Somekick
I saw an overweight person try and squeeze in to the Hurler coaster
at PCarowinds. The attendants did not let him ride thankfully because the
"ratcheting" lap bar would not even click once. Unfortunaltly it took an
accident like this to sharpen the minds of ride attendants as wooden
coaster building continues to boom in Europe.
They should make at least 1 seat with a removable seat divider that
could accomodate some of the larger guest.
And we ALL know what parks should do with the problem proned
ratcheting lap bars. They are just down right silly and in some cases
cause more harm than good when you get PINNED to the seat with no flex
room. Besides the fact that they are constantly getting stuck causing the
attendant to have to get the little tool out and unlock you.
David H. -- REMOVE NOSPAMMERS to reply
On 9 Jul 1997 21:45:32 GMT, some...@aol.com (Somekick) wrote:
> And we ALL know what parks should do with the problem proned
>ratcheting lap bars. They are just down right silly and in some cases
>cause more harm than good when you get PINNED to the seat with no flex
>room. Besides the fact that they are constantly getting stuck causing the
>attendant to have to get the little tool out and unlock you.
Personally, I think that the staples (lapbars) on Morgan trains are MUCH
more painful! Riverside's Cyclone loses at least 5 notches on my
favorite woodies list because of them.
David Hamburger
NOTE my new e-mail address.
IMPORTANT: Please remove "NOSPAMMERS." from my address when replying
via e-mail. It's a (so far) effective effort to avoid spam.
My top 10 steelies list: My top 5 woodies list:
1) Alpengeist 6) Mantis 1) Cyclone (Coney Island)
2) Great Nor'Easter 7) Steel Phantom 2) Wild One
tie) Raptor 8) Kumba 3) Great White (Morey's)
4) Magnum XL-200 9) Outer Limits (PKD) 4) Comet (GE)
5) Batman (SFGAdv) 10) GASM (SFGAdv) 5) Grizzly (PKD)
NOTE: only 1 of each clone listed
Tom Marshall
On 9 Jul 1997 21:45:32 GMT, some...@aol.com (Somekick) wrote:
> I saw an overweight person try and squeeze in to the Hurler coaster
>at PCarowinds. The attendants did not let him ride thankfully because the
>"ratcheting" lap bar would not even click once. Unfortunaltly it took an
>accident like this to sharpen the minds of ride attendants as wooden
>coaster building continues to boom in Europe.
> They should make at least 1 seat with a removable seat divider that
>could accomodate some of the larger guest.
> And we ALL know what parks should do with the problem proned
>ratcheting lap bars. They are just down right silly and in some cases
>cause more harm than good when you get PINNED to the seat with no flex
>room. Besides the fact that they are constantly getting stuck causing the
>attendant to have to get the little tool out and unlock you.
It is noticeable that MegaFobia (Oakwood) also a CCI with PTC trains,
has (this year) been fitted with "airline style" lap belts, fixed to
the seart, as well as the lap bar. Were the Stampeda trains of
similar design (with the belt as well) ?
--
Tom Marshall - t...@coasternut.demon.co.uk ..::''''::..
http://www.coasternut.demon.co.uk/ .:::. .;'' ``;.
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::,,,,::
BPB BEST
In article <33c5564f...@news.demon.co.uk>, t...@coasternut.demon.co.uk
(Tom Marshall) writes:
>It is noticeable that MegaFobia (Oakwood) also a CCI with PTC trains,
>has (this year) been fitted with "airline style" lap belts, fixed to
>the seart, as well as the lap bar. Were the Stampeda trains of
>similar design (with the belt as well) ?
No seat belts on Stampida :-(
Greg P.
To RIDE the BEST, you have to visit the BEST - Blackpool Pleasure Beach !!
Reach new heights in 1997
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