Schlitterbahn

[kso_FAN]

Velcro absolutely degrades over time. Strap replacement schedule will be of interest here. Also if the kid was too thin and there wasn't enough contact area where the straps Velcro together

With a 10 year old boy and 2 women on the ride, it's very unlikely they reached the 400 pound limit. It seems like this will be a big factor in this.

[SkinnyBenny]

What was their procedure for checking weight? Do they have a scale? Do they just let the teenage employee eyeball it? Never been.

[wetwillie]

2 adult females and a ten year old boy average out to be exactly 400 pounds.  I had heard the raft was weighed twice prior to going down the slide but don't know that for sure.

[puniraptor]

I could also see the effect of a very light person in the front and heavy person in the back being overlooked. The front could have bucked up a little in a water, air, or track bump and then caught major lift.

[bucket]

2 adult females and a ten year old boy average out to be exactly 400 pounds.  I had heard the raft was weighed twice prior to going down the slide but don't know that for sure.

The combined weight of riders per raft must be between 400 and 550 pounds. Riders are weighed at the bottom of the tower and again at the top.

http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article94254507.html

[Canary]

I just hope that all the dads and moms on here take a moment to show your kids a bit of extra love today.  They are taken away from us so suddenly and tragically.  Make sure they know you love them, regardless of their ages. Really feel badly for the family.

[8manpick]

Velcro absolutely degrades over time. Strap replacement schedule will be of interest here. Also if the kid was too thin and there wasn't enough contact area where the straps Velcro together

With a 10 year old boy and 2 women on the ride, it's very unlikely they reached the 400 pound limit. It seems like this will be a big factor in this.

You must not spend much time at Midwestern water parks

[kso_FAN]

Velcro absolutely degrades over time. Strap replacement schedule will be of interest here. Also if the kid was too thin and there wasn't enough contact area where the straps Velcro together

With a 10 year old boy and 2 women on the ride, it's very unlikely they reached the 400 pound limit. It seems like this will be a big factor in this.

You must not spend much time at Midwestern water parks

True. I was just at Schlitterbahn in mid July.

[Emo EMAW]

I wonder if the pressure of the rafts are checked and how often.  I would bet that under differing weights and pressures the raft could flex more or less and be more likely to become airborne depending on a combination of variables.  A raft with the same amount of air in it would have different pressures at park open time and 3PM on a hot summer day. 

Also, safety should have been designed into the slide so that even dumbasses can use it and not get themselves or others killed.

[ednksu]

not that it matters because this will never go to trial but kansas tort limits non-economic damages at $300k

Too lazy to confirm, but those limits look like they apply to wrongful death actions. I think this could fall under products liability (not sure, though).

Couldn't the economic damages be significant in his case?  If his Dad is a state lawmaker, couldn't they argue the kid was lined up to be pretty successful in the job market for 40ish years?

Ya, his wife and kids are going to miss out on that income

Jesus Christ dude.

[ednksu]

How any insurance company allowed this thing to be opened is beyond me.  Let alone after all the initial issues with the raft going airborne.  But installing that netting that looks more like a cheese grater?  JFC someone royally mumped up the design and 'fixes' along the way.

[wetwillie]

Velcro absolutely degrades over time. Strap replacement schedule will be of interest here. Also if the kid was too thin and there wasn't enough contact area where the straps Velcro together

With a 10 year old boy and 2 women on the ride, it's very unlikely they reached the 400 pound limit. It seems like this will be a big factor in this.

You must not spend much time at Midwestern water parks

True. I was just at Schlitterbahn in mid July.

Did you ride that death trap? 

[Phil Titola]

You would think if the stated minimum weight was 400...then the real safe minimum weight would be like 325 to 350...not 399. If that ends up being a fsctor...shame on this place.

[yoga-like_abana]

Feel bad also for the 18 year old kids that were working that slide

[DQ12]

not that it matters because this will never go to trial but kansas tort limits non-economic damages at $300k

Too lazy to confirm, but those limits look like they apply to wrongful death actions. I think this could fall under products liability (not sure, though).

Couldn't the economic damages be significant in his case?  If his Dad is a state lawmaker, couldn't they argue the kid was lined up to be pretty successful in the job market for 40ish years?

Ya, his wife and kids are going to miss out on that income

Jesus Christ dude.

well...he's right.

[CNS]

NY Daily News:

The famous water slide where a 10-year-old Kansas boy died from a neck injury hasn’t been inspected by the state since its troubled opening two years ago, according to government records.

Documents obtained by the Kansas City Star show the Kansas Department of Labor, which oversees amusement parks, never sent an inspector to the Verrückt slide since it debuted in July 2014.

Instead, the Kansas City attraction — which holds the Guinness World Record for tallest water slide — was only checked by certified inspectors at the Schlitterbahn water park.

Those inspectors, though, were not required to send their reports to the state.

I am going to try to find it, but I saw a quote yesterday from the park manager saying that the slide is inspected at the beginning and end of each season, by an outside inspector, and daily by onsite staff.

[star seed 7]

They inspect for cracked welds, deformities, etc... not safety practices

(I'm pretty sure)

[mocat]

yeah

[CNS]

channel 41 posted on FB that they were locked out of the dept of labor when trying to get access to the inspection records.

[Mrs. Gooch]

They inspect for cracked welds, deformities, etc... not safety practices

(I'm pretty sure)

Yeah, and they definitely are not doing a fluid dynamics analysis to see what would happen if a specific weight (underweight?) of passengers were on the ride.

[star seed 7]

No, the field inspector wouldn't do that

[CNS]

Is there not protocol for safety inspection for things like this?  I mean, elevators have one, escalators have one, etc.   

[Mrs. Gooch]

IMO, this is probably not a safety inspection issue but rather a design safety issue. (Unless the kid running the ride let something way outside of the rules go. But then it's a procedure safety issue which inspecting the ride itself isn't going to fix.)

[CNS]

Well, if the velcro is worn out(which a whole lot of ppl have been saying is, from their own personal ride experience recently), and if the ride is safe with functional velcro, I would say this could definitely be looked at as an inspection, maintenance, and repair issue.

[catastrophe]

Wouldn't the inspector just be there to ensure the death trap continued to work as designed?