This weekend, people will pack into Kennywood for the final days of Phantom Fall Fest. With the weather forecasted to be beautiful, it’s expected to be packed with families.
On the minds of many will be the tragic death of a 42-year-old father. He was ejected from the Goliath roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia earlier this month and fell to his death. What exactly happened is still under investigation.
Dave Hahner has been a historian with the American Coaster Enthusiasts for nearly two decades.
“We were watching the news, and I was like, ‘oh my god, isn’t this horrible,’” Hahner tells Channel 11. “I was at SeaWorld in Orlando that day riding a ride very similar to the ride at the same time the accident happened.”
Hahner says what makes this news so shocking is that the amusement industry is extremely safe. Rides like the Goliath have multiple fail-safes in place.
“Their record is exemplary,” Hahner tells Channel 11. “You look at the millions of rides they give a year, and there are no incidents.”
An industry expert tells Channel 11, you have a 1 in 15.5 million chance of getting seriously hurt at an amusement park. You’re more likely to get hurt driving to the park. Hahner says the manufacturer of the Goliath is also known as the Cadillac of the industry. While there are no similar rides in Pittsburgh, there are similar coasters at parks within driving distance.
“Hersheypark has one; Kings Island in Cincinnati has two of them,” Hahner said.
Those rides are now closed.
The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture oversees amusement parks in Pennsylvania, like Kennywood. They tell Channel 11 that rides must be inspected at least every 30 days, but it’s common for operators to inspect equipment daily.
As of this report, we found the inspection dates for all the rides at Kennywood: the Steel Curtain last inspected on 10/18, and Phantom’s Revenge last inspected on 10/11. This information is all publicly available here online.
As families head to Kennywood for the final days of Phantom Fall Fest, people we spoke to say they are not deterred.
“I think it’s reasonable to be on edge,” Jon McFadden tells Channel 11. “They’re scary to some people, but I wouldn’t say unsafe.”
Hahner says these rides are going to be safer than ever.
“They’re there to forget about your troubles for a little while,” Hahner added. “That’s why we go to Kennywood and all these amusement parks across the country. It’s great for the soul.”
We reached out to Kennywood multiple times for this report, but we did not hear back.
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