Arkham Asylum stoppage/evacuation - January 2017

[AlexB 5,229]

http://www.news.com.au/national/queensland/dozens-trapped-at-the-top-of-movie-world-roller-coaster/news-story/79bc538852f9ee125e1fd5fe03a647e1

Quote

DOZENS of patrons are trapped on a ride at Gold Coast theme park Movie World.

Emergency services including paramedics and fire rescue crews have been sent to the Oxenford fun park after the ride malfunctioned.

Movie World rides were cleared after an official Worksafe Queensland safety audit last month following the Dreamworld Thunder River Rapids Ride disaster at Dreamworld where four tourists died.

More details as they come to hand.

Originally published asDozens trapped on Movie World ride

-

Greg StolzThe Courier-Mail

#CourierFail

[loki75 47]

@Alexb You beat me to it.

Here we go with another media beat up.

[TommyG 0]

http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2017/01/riders-stuck-on-top-of-rollercoaster-at-movie-world.html

Quote

Riders stuck on top of rollercoaster at Movie World

Riders are stuck upside down at the top of a rollercoaster at Movie World on the Gold Coast of Australia. 

The Arkham Asylum rollercoaster has jammed at the top, leaving at least 20 passengers dangling dangerously towards the ground below. 

NZ media are even worse...

[AlexB 5,229]

I take issue even with the headline.... "Dozens Trapped" - the ride only seats 20.

[loki75 47]

1 minute ago, AlexB said:

I take issue even with the headline.... "Dozens Trapped" - the ride only seats 20.

Mathematics isn't part of journalism 

[AlexB 5,229]

Wait... if 13 is a 'Baker's Dozen' - maybe 10 is a 'Journalist's Dozen'?

Edited January 11, 2017 by AlexB

[New display name 2,955]

Strange question but if somebody is riding with VR what will happen with the VR movie.  Would it stop at that point all would it continue to the end of the ride?

[mission 42]

In fairness, the title of this thread is an assumption that a safety system did in fact stop the ride.  For all we know something has simply broken, rather than the system recognising an issue and activity stopping the ride, and the ride is genuinely stuck.

 

While the media do jump on these things, they do seem to happen a bit too often of late, or at least they are now reported so it seems it happens more often....

[downunder 125]

Hope they get a refund for the VR lol.

I've walked up and down those lift hill stairs, not very scary. They're getting a part Star Tour for free lol.

Problem is the perception of safety is very negative among those less knowledgeable about amusement parks at the moment. And this beat up doesn't help.

[AlexB 5,229]

5 minutes ago, mission said:

In fairness, the title of this thread is an assumption that a safety system did in fact stop the ride.  For all we know something has simply broken, rather than the system recognising an issue and activity stopping the ride, and the ride is genuinely stuck.

if something broke, a sensor would have detected it, alerted the operator and if the PLC didn't receive the expected input (for example, I know that on The Demon, the PLC on lift 2 was set to detect the train XX seconds after lift 1 released the train) then it would have automatically thrown the e-stop, whether the operator did or not.

Either way - the safety system on the ride has done something, and what it did is what it is supposed to do. Even if the issue here was 'lift motor exploded' - the anti rollbacks on the lift hill prevented the train from falling back into the station - and the anti rollbacks are part of the ride safety system.

I used the title in reference to the numerous incidents we've had of late, and the fact that most breaking news reports turn out to be a run of the mill stoppage that happens (semi) regularly. Many responses from enthusiasts to those articles have been in the same vein as this thread title.

An evac on Arkham is a bitch for the operators though. Pretty sure @Spotty has previously given us the run down on that - the evac platform has to be winched into position manually I believe?

[Chubu 12]

I don't understand why these keep getting media attention? I used the brakes on my car today and came to a complete stop, can I be on TV too for having safely working machinery? 

[mission 42]

8 minutes ago, AlexB said:

Either way - the safety system on the ride has done something, and what it did is what it is supposed to do. Even if the issue here was 'lift motor exploded' - the anti rollbacks on the lift hill prevented the train from falling back into the station - and the anti rollbacks are part of the ride safety system.

 

Fair enough, I was coming from that, for example: some metal came loose and jammed in the wheels stopping the train, then it's stopped due to malfunction/breakage rather than a system actually stopping the train because it's detected an abnormality.

Anyway no point in speculation.

Getting those people off it would certainly be the tricky bit but surely they have the infrastructure and practise to do it safely.

Edited January 11, 2017 by mission

[Brad2912 3,498]

So far the best post I've seen on social media about this was:

 

"well that explains why i keep seeing a helicopter flying over my house with a ladder hanging off it"

[New display name 2,955]

13 minutes ago, AlexB said:

iAn evac on Arkham is a bitch for the operators though. Pretty sure @Spotty has previously given us the run down on that - the evac platform has to be winched into position manually I believe?

I think that's why they have called in the emergency services to remove them.  On a hot day like today it might be a quicker option.

[MaxxTheMonster 474]

35 minutes ago, AlexB said:

I take issue even with the headline.... "Dozens Trapped" - the ride only seats 20.

 

33 minutes ago, loki75 said:

Mathematics isn't part of journalism 

 

30 minutes ago, AlexB said:

Wait... if 13 is a 'Baker's Dozen' - maybe 10 is a 'Journalist's Dozen'?

 

doz·en

  (dŭz′ən)

n.

1. pl. dozen Abbr. doz. or dz. A set of 12.

2. dozens An indefinite, large number: dozens of errands to run.

[mission 42]

baker's dozen

ˌbeɪkəz ˈdʌzn/

noun

unpunctuated: bakers dozen

1. a group or set of thirteen.

   "a baker's dozen of love songs"

[UpperCoomera 46]

Leaving the park with my family, channel 9 chopper hovering above the park, me taking a video on my MOBILE PHONE of the green lantern (couldn't really care about the simple safety issue going on with AA right now) and was told by Mr Security Guard Chris to stop filming immediately and leave the premises immediately. Nice way to treat paying guests Chris! Let me reiterate - I'm on my personal mobile phone taking video of GL for the kids and was told to bugger off more or less. Thanks Chris. 

[grrofunger 166]

Dozens has been removed from the article

[AlexB 5,229]

The News.com article has now been entirely rewritten by a News.com journo, instead of pirating the CourierMail feed directly, and the following drivel is now courtesy of Kim Stephens:

Quote

PASSENGERS are stuck on a stalled rollercoaster at Movie World, as a stifling heatwave sweeps across Queensland.

Rescue crews are working to free the tourists, who are stranded where the Arkham Asylum Coaster stopped near the top of the ride.

The Gold Coast theme park underwent extensive safety testing following the deaths of four tourists at nearby Dreamworld in October last year.

Temperatures across Queensland and New South Wales are soaring today, as a heatwave sweeps across Australia’s east coast.

The Queensland Fire and Rescue Service has been called to assist park management with the vertical rescue.

Paramedics are on standby but there are no reports of injuries.

Rescue firefighters were called to the park about midday local time.

The Arkham Asylum roller coaster travels at speeds of up to 85 kilometres per hour.

Passengers wear a virtual reality mask throughout the ride, where they experience “five stomach-churning inversions”.

The ride malfunction comes less than a month after Dreamworld reopened.

The park closed for two months in the wake of the deaths of four tourists on the Thunder River Rapids Ride in late October.

Kate Goodchild, her brother Luke Dorsett, his partner Roozi Araghi and Cindy Low died in what was the deadliest accident at an Australian theme park since the 1970s.

The family trips on the popular Thunder River Rapids ride turned to tragedy when the raft the group were travelling in collided with a stationary raft and flipped, throwing the four into the machinery and water.

The park reopened on December 10.

It is not owned by the same company as Movie World.

More to come

So just a few issues here:

1. whilst it is technically a heatwave by the bureau of meteorology definition, current bureau observations peg the temperature at the park somewhere between 30 and 35 degrees, which is hardly 'stifling' - in this case, being a suspended coaster is an advantage as the midday sun being near to directly overhead means they're pretty well shaded from it.
2. If they've called the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service (QFRS) to assist, they're going to be waiting a while as QFRS doesn't exist. The current authority for rescues of this nature would be QFES - Queensland Fire and Emergency Services. (It's also not really a "vertical rescue" - although QFES would have deployed operators skilled in VR.
3. Passengers MAY wear a VR headset.
4. Being December has 31 days, Dreamworld opened on December 10 and it's currently January 11 - no math is going to make it 'less than a month after dreamworld reopened - the article even ends citing the date they reopened.
5. There really is no reason to include reference to the dreamworld incident, the identities of the victims or details of the incident, as there is no similarity, reference or parallel to draw to this incident. The only reference you should be making is that the ride was subjected to safety audit since the recent incident at dreamworld, and nothing further is needed.

At least they had the decency to stipulate that the park was owned by another company.

9 minutes ago, UpperCoomera said:

Leaving the park with my family, channel 9 chopper hovering above the park, me taking a video on my MOBILE PHONE of the green lantern (couldn't really care about the simple safety issue going on with AA right now) and was told by Mr Security Guard Chris to stop filming immediately and leave the premises immediately. Nice way to treat paying guests Chris! Let me reiterate - I'm on my personal mobile phone taking video of GL for the kids and was told to bugger off more or less. Thanks Chris. 

Shows you how the parks are currently feeling towards anybody who could be media, or sell the video to the media. its a shame really... but its private property and they can do what they want.

[UpperCoomera 46]

↑ there were 3 television crews out the front of the admission gates with all their gear and reporters and security didn't even look at them and here's little ole me with my crappy little mobile phone and they feel threatened by me and tell me to get off the property. Pfft. Pfft! 

[AlexB 5,229]

Article updated again (and link has changed from original posted above)

Park has made a statement through Greg "Young" - although i'll call this an auto correct error instead of ignorance as my phone also tried to auto correct 'yong' to 'young' as well.

Mechanical issue with the (lift) chain seems to be the culprit.

 

Quote

A RESCUE operation is underway at Gold Coast theme park Movie World, where passengers are trapped at the top of a stalled rollercoaster as a stifling heatwave sweeps across Queensland.

A mechanical issue caused the Arkham Asylum Coaster to malfunction around midday local time, Movie World general manager Greg Young said.

Rescue crews are working to free the tourists, with some already making their way down.

There are no reports of injuries.

“Warner Brothers Movie World is currently conducting an evacuation of the Arkham Asylum Coaster, due to a mechanical issue with the chain,” Mr Young said.

“There are no injuries to any guest on board and we are in direct communication with these guests.”

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services have brought in a cherry picker to free some of the passengers in harder to reach places.

Movie World workers were giving trapped passengers water as the operation continued, Mr Young said.

The theme park underwent extensive safety testing following the deaths of four tourists at nearby Dreamworld in October last year.

Temperatures across Queensland and New South Wales are soaring today, as a heatwave sweeps across Australia’s east coast.

The Queensland Fire and Rescue Service has been called to assist park management with the vertical rescue.

Paramedics are on standby but there are no reports of injuries.

Rescue firefighters were called to the park about midday local time.

<snip> - rest of article remains unchanged

I see they've used QFES for part of the article, but not for the other. Given ES were called around 12pm, and some guests are already cleared, less than 2 hours is hardly a major catastrophe.

 

[Jamberoo Fan 355]

This might be difficult to watch (in regard to the media's questions) but here is MW General Manager, Greg Yong's short media statement/question session covered naturally by 7 News:

Looking at social media, I believe another ride at MW had an e-stop today but in case the media are reading this forum, I won't say which ride. It will remain a mystery.

2 hours ago, YLFATEEKS said:

Strange question but if somebody is riding with VR what will happen with the VR movie.  Would it stop at that point all would it continue to the end of the ride?

I haven't experienced VR but that's what I'd expect to happen if the ride stopped suddenly. I think it would operate like it would while waiting in the station for the rollercoaster to start.

2 hours ago, Chubu said:

I don't understand why these keep getting media attention?

To the media, fear gets viewers, clicks, listeners & sells newspapers.

Edited January 11, 2017 by Jamberoo Fan
Added paragraph about another MW ride's e-stop.

[andrewt92 2]

This is why we can't have nice things! 

[bladex 205]

heard this on the radio briefly i was thinking yes another hot topic for parkz!

[Gold Coast Amusement Force 953]

You've got to love oxenford fun park.

Also, I realise the media makes it way worse than reality. But Movie World has had three rides stop in the span of 3 months (I think), and 2 in a week.