An acquaintance posted this tonight on FB. There’s a lot that doesn’t add up, first that there are no seatbelts on B&M inverts. And that the FDNY came? They wouldn’t respond to a theme park in another state. Is this legitimate? It sounds suspicious but Six Flags is well…Six Flags.Incident on Batman: The Ride
- Thread starter CoasterFan2735
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An acquaintance posted this tonight on FB. There’s a lot that doesn’t add up, first that there are no seatbelts on B&M inverts. And that the FDNY came? They wouldn’t respond to a theme park in another state. Is this legitimate? It sounds suspicious but Six Flags is well…Six Flags.
Well for one, there are actually seatbelts on B&M Inverts—the ones that are mounted to the seat that buckle directly to the harness. Everything else though, makes no sense. If FDNY had indeed responded, that would’ve been newsworthy, as would the “accident”. This person, to me, seems to be more looking for attention. The seatbelts on B&M Inverts don’t even do anything for ride operation. They could dispatch with unbuckled seatbelts and it wouldn’t affect the ride. They are failsafes, and a visual cue that larger riders are able to ride (so long as the seatbelts click).
That’s what I was thinking. I know the ride can dispatch as long as the hydraulic restraints are good to go, but this didn’t sound right at all. I’ve ridden quite a few B&M inverts (I don’t remember seat belts but I’m a smaller person) and I don’t think a train could dispatch without a restraint being locked without a manual override, which is a big no-no.
All B&M inverts have seat belts. Having operated a B&M floor less (B&M seatbelts are the same across each model more/less) I can certainly believe that it did come undone especially if the person was already having difficulty getting the restraints down.
I can understand the person being freaked out about it coming undone since that is a visual way for guests to see that their restraints is closed, but the older B&Ms have 4 ratchets to keep the restraint locked directly behind the persons headrest. The older B&Ms that don't have seat monitoring can also be dispatched with restraints locked even if the restraint is completely open. The seatbelt as mentioned is there to help ensure that minimum down is met. Is it a backup locking mechanism? Technically, yes. But I personally wouldn't trust a B&M seatbelt for my safety.
I can understand the person being freaked out about it coming undone since that is a visual way for guests to see that their restraints is closed, but the older B&Ms have 4 ratchets to keep the restraint locked directly behind the persons headrest. The older B&Ms that don't have seat monitoring can also be dispatched with restraints locked even if the restraint is completely open. The seatbelt as mentioned is there to help ensure that minimum down is met. Is it a backup locking mechanism? Technically, yes. But I personally wouldn't trust a B&M seatbelt for my safety.
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Yeah, this honestly sounds like a shitpost on r/rollercoasterjerk if it wasn't coming from someone you're familiar with @CoasterFan2735.
Otherwise, I can't think of a single coaster from any reputable manufacturer installed in the US that is at all reliant on any kind of restraint that a guest could manipulate during a ride cycle - that sounds like certain injury/death and being sued to oblivion and beyond if one were to exist.
Otherwise, I can't think of a single coaster from any reputable manufacturer installed in the US that is at all reliant on any kind of restraint that a guest could manipulate during a ride cycle - that sounds like certain injury/death and being sued to oblivion and beyond if one were to exist.
Yeah, I went to school with this girl and it didn’t sound quite right. My brother works for the FDNY, and I know for a fact that they would not ever respond to SFGAdv. And this just sounds odd, especially for a B&M, but SFGAdv doesn’t have the best maintenance nor budget.
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Definitely a ploy for attention. Even SF wouldn't have paid that much out for a nothing-burger seat belt issue. Also, the FDNY? Why would they respond when their jurisdiction ends almost an hour away from the park at the closest? I can certainly sympathize with someone freaking out about their seat belt coming undone, but this seems a bit over-dramatized.
Exactly. Just making sure I wasn’t crazy. My brother also stated that the FDNY has to have explicit permission (special permission) to leave the five boroughs of NY. No high angle rescue or fatality occurred so they would have no business responding to something like this.
Allegedly she is planning to sue Six Flags per Facebook. Sounds like a plea for attention because that lawsuit won’t go anywhere.
Just trying to gain false sympathy to help publicly pressure the company into settling. Probably would have better luck just suing her friends on court TV shows.
Sounds like either she hasn't hired a lawyer, or may not have received appropriate counsel/ignored it.
Any publicly viewable social media post (public loosely defined as in more than just themselves able to view) can be used as evidence against them in court.
I have had a seatbelt come unbuckled on Alpengist so that part of the is definitely possible. Other then the FDNY part the rest is probably possible but highly highly unlikely.
It might be possible that she:
1. Has no idea that the restraint doesn’t need the seatbelt to stay closed; and
2. Was so freaked out that her memory of what happened afterwards was garbled.
I‘m not sure there is a good reason to assume the worst about her intentions and motivation.
1. Has no idea that the restraint doesn’t need the seatbelt to stay closed; and
2. Was so freaked out that her memory of what happened afterwards was garbled.
I‘m not sure there is a good reason to assume the worst about her intentions and motivation.
Is this girl from NYC? FDNY could be just what she's used to abbreviating for fire & rescue. And if she's freaked out that much (and if this event did happen, it sounds like the park responded to an epic freak out rather than a loose buckle) the park probably sent everyone available.
That would make sense - I live in NYC, too. She’s GP and I don’t know if Six Flags took the time to explain restraint safety to her, but probably calling emergency services in full force only made her feel like she was less safe on the ride. From what she said though, it sounded like the OTS restraint was loose and she kept pushing it down, which sounded eerily similar to what happened on the Orlando Free Fall (which is what a lot of mutual friends drew parallels to).
I feel like if a FD was called there would be some type of news coverage, and on top of that the way news outlets like to sensationalize stories like this, you think you would easily find news on this.
Not necessarily I have seen JCCFD on site at BGW dozens of times for stuff that have never gotten reported heck the Panthein incident where they were on seen for a possible fire in a ride station never made the news. Add to that if the report was simply about a guest with a medical crisis which is what the report appears to and not a ride incident then it is highly unlikely the the media would have scrambled to investigate the situation.
Don't know if the guest had a significant enough panic attack that it triggered a full blown medical crisis which isn't impossible especially if said panic attack happened while already experiencing the force if the ride then it is certainly possible that a lawyer somewhere would be willing to give it a shot.
Does the park have an equivalent to their own fire department? I wouldn't think so but figured to ask.
Also, to my knowledge NJ amusement park regulations are pretty detailed (basically to prevent another Action Park from existing), so could it be that calling in the local emergency services is a requirement for certain types of incidents?
Finally, while a general parallel to the drop tower at Icon Park can be drawn, it's unfair to say this incident was anything like that one. For one, unless there's evidence to the contrary, SF didn't install a non-compatible harness and rework ride programming to accept it (B&M does provide parks the option for restraints that accommodate larger guests), and two, based on the description the minimum verify was met and the harness was locked tight against the rider - while not impossible, it would've been extremely difficult for the rider to prematurely exit their seat.
Also, to my knowledge NJ amusement park regulations are pretty detailed (basically to prevent another Action Park from existing), so could it be that calling in the local emergency services is a requirement for certain types of incidents?
Finally, while a general parallel to the drop tower at Icon Park can be drawn, it's unfair to say this incident was anything like that one. For one, unless there's evidence to the contrary, SF didn't install a non-compatible harness and rework ride programming to accept it (B&M does provide parks the option for restraints that accommodate larger guests), and two, based on the description the minimum verify was met and the harness was locked tight against the rider - while not impossible, it would've been extremely difficult for the rider to prematurely exit their seat.