Xcelerator Closed.....For Months

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2 ... losed.html

After the accident at Knotts Berry Farm, Xcelerator will be closed down for a couple of months.

Here is a video that you can view of the onride camera while the accident occured:
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=b19_1253600129

Credit goes to coasterguy26 for finding the video link.

[Mikey]

I think we have learned a valuable lesson here. Replace your cables yearly.

^ They do.

I know for a fact that Cedar Fair does not.
Technically, they are to be replaced every 10,000 launches, however, they don't do that.

I read (or listened) somewhere that they replaced the cable every season around December. Not sure how accurate that is though.

[coolbeans326]

when i worked for knotts back in march they had just repalced it and they told me it was replaced a year prior. maybe they got lazy this year due to budget cutz with the poor economy? probably im guessing...

I don't think that there is any "theory" behind why this happened, just the fact that it was a random accident that happened.

^Cable snaps aren't random accidents. They're easily prevented by routine cable inspections.

Originally posted by SixFlagsFiesta

I do not know of any park that replaces cables when they need to. That is, unless the manufacture has in place a limitation of liability or mandatory service bulletin.

S & S is really good about making sure there clients are replacing cables on the rides. The cycle counter will shut the ride down if it exceeds cable rating.

This is true about S&S. Dorney Park definitely changes the cables on Dominator regularly. I know it isn't a coaster, but it proves the point.

I'm pretty sure most parks just change the cables yearly because of the expenses and stuff. You can't be angry at them for that. Esp since most of the time they don't need to do it more than that. I mean, you are suppose to change the oil in your car every 3,000 miles but I'm sure people don't do that.

the video makes it hard to tell if anyone was hurt. Was the cable there or did something happen to the boy?

[Brtnboarder495]

Part of the cable was ripped and hit the boy .. it was under lots of tension so it seemed to cut him. That said, he didn't look that hurt in the video (children tend to always overreact to injuries), so I'm sure it was pretty minor.

[Kev]

^ the kid reportedly spent two nights in the hospital, so maybe it was a little more serious than just 'pretty minor'. no other details though, so who really knows?

Originally posted by Kennyweird

^Cable snaps aren't random accidents. They're easily prevented by routine cable inspections.

Sooooooooooooooo you're saying this was planned? Don't you think Knotts does do cable inspections? I'm just saying that I don't believe that Knotts is a criminal now and needs to be punishedfor all of this. As a society we're quick to say someone is at fault for an accident that could have happened to anyone.

[Brtnboarder495]

Originally posted by Kev

^ the kid reportedly spent two nights in the hospital, so maybe it was a little more serious than just 'pretty minor'. no other details though, so who really knows?

No one else does really know - but if they're going to milk this lawsuit for all it's worth, they're going to keep the kid in the hospital as long as possible. At worse, I'm thinking he needed stitches. Think about it, he didn't even notice the cut/injury until after the train came to a stop. Had he really been severely injured, he would have expressed pain before the train came to a stop.

Looks like he noticed it pretty quick. Sometimes an accident happens so fast that you don't know what has happened or if you are even injured until the adrenaline rush has started to go away.

I know of a few people that have broken their legs and tried to walk immediately after without realizing what happened. They were obviously in pain as soon as the break occurred, but confusion and shock can really distort your reactions and thought process.

[Brtnboarder495]

I guess that's true too Canadamos. If you look at pictures, it looks like he was struck by debris from the cable nearly striking the trains front fender in two.

I know that at least Cedar Point doesn't replace their cables until they give out. Last year when Dragster's cable snapped, I got to catch a glimpse of it after it was taken out, and it was pretty horrifying. Parts of it where normal, and other parts where almost pencil thin.

Im sure knotts are just being safe. With the consuquences a ride malfunction like that can have its way better to be safe than sorry. I feel they made a good decision and support them.

Originally posted by Canadmos

Looks like he noticed it pretty quick. Sometimes an accident happens so fast that you don't know what has happened or if you are even injured until the adrenaline rush has started to go away.

I know of a few people that have broken their legs and tried to walk immediately after without realizing what happened. They were obviously in pain as soon as the break occurred, but confusion and shock can really distort your reactions and thought process.

That is true. When I broke my shoulder playing soccer, i didnt notice right away. I noticed when I tried to make a throw in and my arm didn't move.[B)]

Well the ride is probably closed until summer of next year (source: screamscape). Do you think they might replace the cable with LSMs?

[Brtnboarder495]

Originally posted by A113

Well the ride is probably closed until summer of next year (source: screamscape). Do you think they might replace the cable with LSMs?

No. That would mean there is a great chance all "rocket"/catapult coasters would need to be replaced. If they were going to do this, they would just replace the system with one that's more reliable and safe, like SR.

LSM and LIMs are great and all, but don't provide the initial acceleration that rocket coasters can provide (Or at least they haven't yet).

Originally posted by Brtnboarder495

LSM and LIMs are great and all, but don't provide the initial acceleration that rocket coasters can provide (Or at least they haven't yet).

yes they do. easily.

^ I believe he is talking about the initial burst of acceleration that the hydraulic launch provides.

Interesting pictures from ScreamScape.




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[slosprint]

Holy crap... the cable sliced right through the front of the train... it looks like it's from one of thos bad action movies.