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View Full Version : Disney Roller Coaster Accident Caused By Air Leaks -- CBS/AP, 2005-10-13



ToursbabeC3po
10-13-2005, 06:45 PM
Please ignore this post I heard the previews wrong see other post about California Screamin. I need to get the wax out of my ears or something so sorry.
Toursbabe

TDBearGrrl
10-13-2005, 06:50 PM
YEE HAA!!!

Rearranging my work schedule so I can go to the park tomorrow!!! That is the advantage of running ones own business. The disadvantage is having no money..

ToursbabeC3po
10-13-2005, 07:04 PM
Disney Roller Coaster Accident Caused By Air Leaks (http://cbs2.com/topstories/topstoriesla_story_286225529.html) --CBS/AP, 2005-10-13

ANAHEIM, Calif. (CBS/AP) A Disney California Adventure theme park accident in July was caused by air leaks in the braking system, according to a state report released today.

Two trains on the California Screamin’ roller coaster collided on July 29 and sent 17 riders to the hospital. The accident has since been under investigation by the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, which issued its final report on the cause.

Klutch
10-13-2005, 07:12 PM
This is a surprise to me. I was under the impression that roller coaster brakes were spring loaded and pnuematic pressure kept them *off*. Thus, an air leak would cause the brake to be *on*.

It seems I was wrong. :confused:

qwiksliver1022
10-13-2005, 07:21 PM
Cool! Wonder if they fixed the music during all this down time. Doubt it...

Noah
10-13-2005, 07:27 PM
There was talk on a post a while back about just getting CAscreaming back up and running and DOSH approved and then doing a more extensive refurb after the busy holiday season. I saw the ride last week and noticed there is still paint rust (on the launch platform) and all sorts of cosmetic fixing that has not been done done yet, I imagine this is something that will happen during the major refurb. I do wonder why they didnt just do it all now get it over with and back up and running by Christmas but I am sure it was a calculated decision based on all sorts of complex formulas that are beyond the scope of my imagination.
So in short do I think the audio system problems have been resolved on all trains? My answer would be no.

ToursbabeC3po
10-13-2005, 07:38 PM
Thanks for editing my post Andrew. I am not sure about all of the rules when it comes to copying articles on other web sites.
Thanks again,
Toursbabe

Darkbeer
10-13-2005, 08:28 PM
http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/homepage/abox/article_714866.php




DOSH cleared the ride to open after verifying that Disney had met all the agency’s requirements, including:

• Consider the redesign of the valves used in the braking system in use on the coaster, and redesign the raking mechanism as needed so that all trains will stop reliabley as they enter braking zones.

• Determine whether valves similar to those that malfunctioned are used ion other rides at the Disneyland Resort,and determne whther they might also be likely to malfunction.

• Retrain all appropriate employees on specific maintenance procedures



http://www.kesq.com/Global/story.asp?S=3977921&nav=9qrx




A state report says air leaks in the braking system caused two trains on the California Screamin' roller coaster at Disney's California Adventure to collide last July.

The report says Cal-OSHA found "no evidence that there is any defect in the California Screamin' ride control system."


Cal-OSHA spokesman Dean Fryer says the agency has asked park officials to review their inspection process. He says Disney officials have taken some corrective action and expect to reopen the ride, which has been closed since the accident.



http://www.nbc4.tv/family/5097066/detail.html




At 6:36 p.m. on the evening of the accident, the ride control system detected a problem and issued a "dispatch inhibit," which "essentially stops trains from leaving the station and results in the trains on the track beginning to stop one by one," the report states.


The cars came to a stop, but one car had "insufficient air pressure," according to the report.


The system initiated an emergency stop, but it "did not occur in sufficient time to prevent" the collision, the report states.


Fryer said Disney officials have taken some corrective action and expect to reopen the ride, which has been closed since the accident.

BQ2
10-13-2005, 08:40 PM
cool I will be screaming soon!

Baloo
10-13-2005, 09:43 PM
doesn't sound as bad and embarasing as someone in another site kept saying it was going to be for Disney.

Disney Village
10-13-2005, 10:38 PM
So that's it then? Air leaks in the brakes? I wonder if the report makes mention of how these leaks came to be? Worn or defective parts, corrosion, poor maintenance or just a freak incident?

Considering no fault was found with the ride system or operators (according to the above news reports) coupled with the fact that there were no major injuries, I think its overall good news for Disney...it appears they may have dodged a bullet (sorry all you ambulance chasing lawyers).

Even though this looks to be minor (in the grand scheme of things) the ride has still been closed for 2 1/2 months...just goes to show how over-regulated the state of CA has become over the years. Any other state and this ride would have reopened much sooner.

olegc
10-13-2005, 10:44 PM
I wonder if the 'brake valve" issue is one of the ones where Disney decided to modify the original ride design and use their own - thus making the manufacturer abandon their guarentees and coverage of the ride. Would be interesting had it been more serious to see if such custom modifications to off-the-shelf rides was actually a worse thing to do than designing from scratch.

disneyhound
10-14-2005, 05:20 AM
This is a report from CBS. I need other sources to validate, could be the beginning of another Rather-Memogate... :eek:

Darkbeer
10-14-2005, 05:35 AM
http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister...cle_715437.php (http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/homepage/abox/article_715437.php)

Note: This article is the full article as shown in Friday's printed paper, and offers a very good graphic of the braking system, plus a lot more information as compared to last night's "breaking news" web article.

QuikQuote: Disney maintenance workers had replaced the "quick exhaust valves" in an area known as Zone 7 the night before the accident and tested them several times before opening the attraction, Disney officials said. But a leak in the new valves caused one of the main brakes to fail July29, allowing the train to roll through Zone 7 and hit the train that was still sitting in brake Zone 8.
Disney had chosen to install Legris-brand valves on the tracks because parts from the original manufacturer, Intamin, were not available, said Rob Doughty, a Disney spokesman.
After the accident, Disney opted not to use either brand, instead replacing all 320 valves on the coaster with Parker valves that have been used on Disney coasters for about 30 years.

Darkbeer
10-14-2005, 05:48 AM
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...1,409332.story (http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-disney14oct14,1,409332.story)

QuikQuote: In a departure from past accident investigations, the state also ordered Disney to inspect similar brake parts at all its other parks — including those outside California — and implement the same corrective action. Disney officials took it a step further by issuing a bulletin about the valve failure to the entire theme park industry.
The original valves had been manufactured by a company called Intamin, the report said, but Disney used a different brand because Intamin parts were unavailable. The second brand, Legris, was "more prone to malfunction," state investigators said. In addition, it was made of a different material and was a different diameter.
In its report, the state ordered eight corrective actions, including redesign of the brakes, retraining the maintenance crew to fully document their work and the reviewing of procedures for testing mechanical systems after major maintenance. Disney has met all of the state's requirements, Doughty said, except the review of testing procedures, which is due by Nov. 18.

disneyhound
10-14-2005, 06:11 AM
Thanks Darkbeer. Sounds like the fault will land on a part rather than a person, good news for CM's...

kmovies
10-14-2005, 06:33 AM
The OC paper did say that Disney had modified the brakes in other zones three months before this accident. Those brakes did not contribute to the accident.

Now, Disney did replace some parts with non-Intamin parts, because the Intamin parts were not available. They appeared to be the wrong size but the manufacturer (Legris) said they were the same.

The new parts are now Parker valves which are used on other coasters throughout their parks.

I agree - it's doesn't reflect as badly on Disney as some believed the report would.

nightdesigns
10-14-2005, 07:39 AM
Interesting to see that it was a part failure, and something not necessarily done by disneyl

"The second brand, Legris, was "more prone to malfunction," state investigators said. In addition, it was made of a different material and was a different diameter." Just wondering if this "Legris more prone to malfunction part" was determined after the accident, or if it was a known industry issue before hand.

I would like to think that disney only uses the best parts available, but we know that isn't possible.

mkcbunny
10-14-2005, 07:52 AM
So that's it then? Air leaks in the brakes? ... Even though this looks to be minor (in the grand scheme of things) the ride has still been closed for 2 1/2 months...just goes to show how over-regulated the state of CA has become over the years. Any other state and this ride would have reopened much sooner.
I'd much rather have them take too long than not long enough.

Thanks for the articles, Darkbeer.

AmandasDad
10-14-2005, 08:03 AM
The OC paper did say that Disney had modified the brakes in other zones three months before this accident. Those brakes did not contribute to the accident.

Now, Disney did replace some parts with non-Intamin parts, because the Intamin parts were not available. They appeared to be the wrong size but the manufacturer (Legris) said they were the same.

The new parts are now Parker valves which are used on other coasters throughout their parks.

I agree - it's doesn't reflect as badly on Disney as some believed the report would.

I agree. Not AS bad as it could have. But I am concerned that they trusted a supplier's (now former, I hope) word when concerning a critical safety system. Testing it once it's in is one thing. Making sure it's the right thing in the first place is another. Part of the process for replacing a part like this should have been a Disney initated validation of the specs and a physical assessment of the actual part(s).

AmandasDad - Test Manager by trade.

Pat-n-Eil
10-14-2005, 10:29 AM
I agree. Not AS bad as it could have. But I am concerned that they trusted a supplier's (now former, I hope) word when concerning a critical safety system. Testing it once it's in is one thing. Making sure it's the right thing in the first place is another. Part of the process for replacing a part like this should have been a Disney initated validation of the specs and a physical assessment of the actual part(s).

AmandasDad - Test Manager by trade.

On the other hand businesses must have a level of trust in their suppliers. If a supplier is out of a part and they tell me that this substitute is essentially similar, you have to trust that they know their business. After all, they are likely more intimately familiar with the general line of material they carry than you are. Then, all you can do is try it and field test it.. if it works, then everything is good. Almost any part of anything can become a safety issue if it fails, but it is impossible to predict every single scenario and test for it.. that's why you have to trust that the supplier is giving you good information and that the manufacturer has thoroughly tested the product before giving out the specifications. To expect Disney to be able to independently spec every part and mirror the manufacture's role would seem very unrealistic.

Pat - Supply Chain Procurement by trade.

kmovies
10-14-2005, 10:41 AM
When Tokyo's space mountain had a slight de-railment reentering the station, it was due to a part being like 1/16 of an inch smaller or something like that. There was a mistake switching the measurements to metric. It wasn't really noticable, but later, proved to have been at fault.

AmandasDad
10-14-2005, 11:02 AM
On the other hand businesses must have a level of trust in their suppliers. If a supplier is out of a part and they tell me that this substitute is essentially similar, you have to trust that they know their business. After all, they are likely more intimately familiar with the general line of material they carry than you are. Then, all you can do is try it and field test it.. if it works, then everything is good. Almost any part of anything can become a safety issue if it fails, but it is impossible to predict every single scenario and test for it.. that's why you have to trust that the supplier is giving you good information and that the manufacturer has thoroughly tested the product before giving out the specifications. To expect Disney to be able to independently spec every part and mirror the manufacture's role would seem very unrealistic.

Pat - Supply Chain Procurement by trade.

Well, you have a valid point. But just where do you draw the line? That's the hard part. :D I don't know. Depends on the system and the risks. And it is unrealistic to test every part. I was thinking just an analysis of the specs and a check of a sample part vs what's being replaced. The reports of leaks should have been a red flag though.

I dunno. I'm probably waaayy overthinking this :D :D

I probably have trust issues too. He He He.