German roller coaster manufacturer Maurer Sohne issued a safety bulletin on September 2 warning that stress testing of its “X-Car” ride vehicles — the trains used in Universal Studios’ Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit roller coaster — may have a potentially serious safety flaw. The coupling bars used in the rides may crack under stress.
Universal Studios has announced that its year-old Rockit coaster is closed indefinitely, but says it is not due to product liability or premises liability concerns. No tourist accidentsrelated to cracked coupling bars on its Rockit ride have been reported publicly. The theme park says that the ride is closed for regular maintenance and that the coupling bar issue has already been addressed.
Rockit’s Manufacturer Urges All Theme Parks to Close the Rides
When it discovered the safety problem, Maurer Sohne urged all theme parks that have its “X-Car” rides to immediately shut them down and conduct metal fatigue and stress tests.
The ride manufacturer also told parks that had found any cracks in the rides’ coupling bars or coupling elements to keep the rides closed indefinitely “to prevent serious accidents posing a danger to health and life of persons.”
If visitors to a theme park were injured or killed on the ride because of defective parts, Maurer Sohne could face product liability claims, as could the theme park.
Universal Studios Claims Ride Shutdown Unrelated to Manufacturer Warning
The Rockit has been closed since September 15. Universal Orlando has not said when the roller coaster will reopen but told the media that the shutdown has nothing to do with Maurer Sohne’s warning.
Universal Orlando spokesman Tom Schroder says that since the ride is already closed, it has decided to keep it closed to perform scheduled annual maintenance.
“For us, it makes sense to take advantage of the fact that it is already closed for maintenance and perform additional annual maintenance work,” he said.
“We are obsessive about safety. We have aggressive inspection and safety programs in place for all our rides and attractions. Those programs meet or exceed all manufacturer guidelines. Anything in a September 2nd manufacturer’s advisory would have been dealt with weeks ago.”
Nevertheless, the Orlando Sentinel questioned why the ride was closed down before its scheduled annual maintenance if it wasn’t to address the safety warning. “Just why Rockit closed in the first place remains something of a mystery,” the Sentinel said.
Sources:
• “Maker of Universal coaster warns of safety issue” (Orlando Sentinel, September 20, 2010)
• “Universal’s Rip Ride Rockit coaster to remain closed indefinitely” (Orlando Sentinel, September 20, 2010)