Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Nicki Fried and US Geraldine Thompson, D-Orlando, presented the company’s findings during a news update Monday.
FreeFall operator made manual adjustments to two seats while riding, “probably to allow larger riders, which should not have happened based on the manufacturer’s instructions,” Thompson said.
“All protocols, procedures and safety measures provided to us by the vehicle manufacturer have been followed. Today’s report offers a complete overview of design, safety, operation, restraints and driving history – which, of course, we welcome,” said Trevor Arnold. said in a statement the lawyer of the operator of the attraction Orlando Slingshot.
“Seat 1’s belt proximity sensor was manually loosened, adjusted and tightened to allow a restriction hole of nearly 7 inches”, about 4 inches longer than the normal opening range for the limiters, according to a report by Quest Engineering & Failure Analysis, Inc. .
His engineers went to the scene to investigate in early April.
The hole in the limiter may have grown up to 10 inches in force, according to the report.
The FreeFall fall tower manufacturer’s guidelines set the rider’s weight limit at 250 pounds, Thomson said; Tire Sampson weighed approximately 340 pounds, his family told CNN.
FreeFall takes riders to the top of a 430-foot tower, tilts them to the ground and falls at speeds of up to 75 miles per hour, according to the ICON Park website. Operators call it the tallest free-standing falling tower in the world, the sheriff’s office said.
The attraction underwent a safety check in December before being allowed to open, according to a safety inspection report received from CNN.
A document from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services notes that the falling tower was inspected on December 20, 2021. The report does not list any deficiencies.
The report did not say who corrected the ride, but found that the adjustments were made after “the seat belt sensors were” originally fastened in place “.
Fried said that now that they know what happened mechanically, they will seek to understand how and why before considering what penalties may come.
The operator’s lawyer said that Orlando Slingshot “fully cooperated with the state during the initial phase of its investigation and we will continue to do so until it is officially completed.”
The trip was closed after Sampson’s death and will remain closed “indefinitely,” Fried said Monday.
CNN’s Jason Hannah, Gregory Lemos, Alta Spells and Teresa Waldrop contributed to this report
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