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Giving a whole new definition to “breaking” newsFrom wsoctv:
Carowinds’ Fury 325 closed due to crack in support pillar, officials say
Carowinds closed the Fury 325 giga coaster Friday due to a crack at the top of a steel support pillar, officials with the park said.
Parks generally make their own inspection plans based on the recommended plans from manufacturers. When the state does the yearly inspection, they usually look at the maintenance plan before certifying the ride. That said, most maintenance plan items are around the parts most likely to break, which are usually on the ride vehicles or parts that move a lot on the ride, like brake or lift components. A stress fracture like this is very unlikely and is probably a result of either poor engineering or construction. Walking under the track may or may not be on the daily list (sometimes its a weekly item), but with the crack so close to a guest area, it's hard to believe that it didn't get caught earlier. It's possible that they just have crappy maintenance, or even one apathetic maintenance person, but imagine if this happened on Apollo. That ride is very difficult to inspect structurally in some parts due to the terrain. I know maintenance would go to the blocks every day, but I don't think they went down to the helix very often. A problem there would go far more unnoticed and would probably result in catastrophe. I would guess that B&M will do an investigation, mostly to see if they're liable for this or not. They may even order the shut down other rides until they determine the exact cause.
