The Most Dangerous Theme Park Rides: Perilous Plunge
Plagued with technical issues upon its debut, the Perilous Plunge at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, California, is billed as the tallest and steepest water ride in the world.
The initial design for the log flume did not provide proper restraints and in 2002, a woman riding fell out of her seat and plummeted over 100 feet to her tragic death. Obviously eager to fix the problem, new cars were ordered that featured safer harnesses.
In doing so, however, the park failed to consider the difference in their weight and thus the flume’s chain nearly broke due to stress. Unsurprisingly, the ride was shut down once again and is currently closed for redesign.
Source: Joseph Stevenson
Cannonball Loop Slide
Source: Tested
Open only a month at the infamously dangerous New Jersey Action Park, the Cannonball Loop Slide was designed to be the ultimate, endorphin-releasing water slide experience. A small enclosed tube was meant to send riders hurtling down it at breakneck speeds until they reached the loop that would shoot them up, over and out onto a wet mat.
Thankfully, no one died on the slide (though many believe that is only because it was open for such a short time), but rumor has it that the slide would snap up test dummies’ limbs in the course of their ride and left the few, real-life dummies unfortunate enough to ride it with abrasions, cuts, bruises, and near-concussions.
History’s Most Dangerous Theme Park Rides: Lightning
Source: Theme Park Review
Conceived by renown roller coaster designer Harry Traver in 1927, the Revere Beach Lightning was one of the most dangerous roller coasters of its day. Lightning was created as the first in a trio of coasters that were meant to provide a jarring ride through sharp turns and sudden inclines all at incredibly exhilarating speeds.
Within the second day of operation, though, the first fatality was recorded on the Lightning and the ride would soon become infamous for shaking its riders so violently that they would experience bruising or life threatening injuries. In this single instance, we can actually thank the Great Depression for saving lives: following Wall Street’s crash, Lightning’s maintenance costs soared as attendance rates plummeted, both of which resulted in an end to the once-fatal storm.
Suspended Catch Air Device (SCAD)
Seen at theme parks around the world, the SCAD is little more a giant net at the bottom of a high structure where participants are strapped into a harness and then dropped like bombs onto a swath of land. This type of ride is said to elicit such a high level of fear that scientists have used it to study the nature of fear in human beings.
As you might have guessed, many accidents and fatalities have been connected to SCADs due to the nature of their design: one twelve year old girl was dropped at a SCAD located in the U.S. and missed the net, resulting in spinal and skull fractures.
Source: Kirms Und Parks
