Accident on log flume

[b.mac]

Why is this a thing?

Plenty of rides have blindspots like this, some much more glaring and much more dangerous. Typically under normal operations the boats do not carry such speed into the final turn, so any damage would be minimal and discovered during daily inspections. The ride had to have been operating in this condition for hours on end for the trough and that railing to get damaged to that extent. It's shocking to me no one who noticed it bothered to report it to the operators of the ride, especially whoever filmed it and shared the video to NJ.com. The operators are trained to stop a ride or stop using a specific unit as soon as a guest has any complaints about it.

 

[Jonesta6]

Is the turnaround for Le Scoot also a blind spot for ops (unless there's a camera), or does the unload crew look over there?

 

[b.mac]

Is the turnaround for Le Scoot also a blind spot for ops (unless there's a camera), or does the unload crew look over there?

It's been a while since I rode Le Scoot but from what I remember of the ride the final turnaround is clearly visible for the unloaders to glance at every once in a while if they're not performing in their position. The only spot I'd consider remotely blind for Le Scoot is that S-bend bit of the flume between the first drop and the turn heading into the final big drop, but that's only because it's so far from the operator at the first drop and the operator at the second drop is in a fully enclosed space and thus has a limited vision. I do not know if there's a camera showing that spot for the operator, and BGW has a different operations philosophy from Great Adventure, so I can't really judge the ride on more than that.

The reason why I say there's a blindspot for Saw Mill is that the turn where the trough got damaged is concealed by the bridge so the lift 2 operator cannot see it, and the unloader and loader in the station are typically in positions on the platform that do not offer a clear view of that area of the turn. Plus there is no camera showing the turn since it isn't a control point of the ride. The cameras are only in control points of the ride, Lift 1, Chute, Spillway, and Lift 2, and that's just to observe the other operators and ensure the blocks and safety system of the ride is functioning properly.

 

[Gavin]

Blind spots on rides are more common than you think. Volcano for instance, was almost one big blind spot. The only areas that ops can see without cameras were the station, part of waiting, prelaunch, and part of launch. Cameras only covered Launch 1, part of the 270° turn around, a 10 foot section at the base of the rollout, and the ends of the slowdown and waiting brakes. Everything else wasn’t visible to the ops running the actual ride.

 

[b.mac]

Blind spots on rides are more common than you think. Volcano for instance, was almost one big blind spot. The only areas that ops can see without cameras were the station, part of waiting, prelaunch, and part of launch. Cameras only covered Launch 1, part of the 270° turn around, a 10 foot section at the base of the rollout, and the ends of the slowdown and waiting brakes. Everything else wasn’t visible to the ops running the actual ride.

See: Batman the ride clones.