The Knott's Berry Farm (KBF) Discussion Thread

[EmirooA zonkey is a cross between a zebra and a donkey.]

I'm with you Robb, but not everyone gets "our" humor.

[coasternutA donkey is a domesticated member of the Equidae or horse family.]

I just looked at the Knotts website and Xcelerator isn't listed as being closed now. Yea!!!

[mattnz2 + 2 = donkey!]

Just for clarification: Intamin is not the vendor of the cables.

And just in case that was directed towards me because of my "Intamin cable update"...yes, I'm well aware of this. I was just saying "Intamin Cable" as part of the joke and ease of explanation.

--Robb

I LOVE it! The Intamin cable attacks again!! Ahhh!!!

[AllenA07My small thing speaks for itself]

I wouldn't think of this situation as necessarily being a defective batch of cables, but I stand by the fact that there might have been something that occurred during the manufacturing process that cause this particular cable to have a problem. Now of course I have no evidence of this in any way, just trying to give a plausible reason for why Intamin might have been held to be jointly at fault in the situation.

As a side question because I'm curious, does Knott's order the cable directly from the vendor (whom I believe is Otis) or rather do they order the cable through Intamin itself? Additionally is the the original cable on the coaster or has it been replaced in the past?

As a disclaimer, I'm not claiming to know a thing about the science of making steel cable, I'm looking at this from a Products Liability stand point, trying to figure out what fault Intamin (or even Knotts) could have possibly had in the situation.

[robbalveySite Admin]

I just really don't understand why so many people in this thread are trying to blame the "faulty cable" or the "defective cable" or "trying to put blame on the cable manufacturer" when that wasn't even something that was mentioned in the report!

No where has ANYONE or ANY STORY even removely mentioned that the cable was bad.

Where did this notion come from? I'll tell you where... it came from TPR readers! Yes, it's totally true! The main topic of the last few pages of this thread have been totally made up by members of this forum!

Not from any news source.

Not from any report whatsoever.

And doesn't contain an ounce of truth or reality.

The ONLY PLACE where a "faulty cable" or the name of the cable vendor or any blame put on the vendor of the cable AT ALL has been reported is...guess where? Theme Park Review!

And you know what? I find that really embarassing.

I'm going to quote the article once again so that you all can focus on reality and maybe start to discuss things that were actually noted by the state inspection instead of just making up your own fantasyland version of the report and putting blame on companies or materials not even mentioned in the real reports....

http://ocresort.freedomblogging.com/2010/04/26/state-blames-knotts-manufacturer-for-xcelerator-failure/42383/

State inspectors say Knott’s Berry Farm could have avoided an accident on the Xcelerator that injured two people last year with more diligent inspections of the ride. At the same time, they say the ride’s manufacturer, Intamin, is equally culpable because the company’s instructions are unclear about whether the ride’s launching cables should be inspected every month, or every six months.

In 2007, Knott’s maintenance division asked Intamin to clarify the inspection schedule, but the company never responded, Cal-OSHA spokesman Dean Fryer said.

Knott’s was nearly three weeks overdue for a six-month inspection when the cable in question snapped on Sept. 16. The train had just left the loading platform when the cable broke, cutting a 12-year-old boy’s leg. Another man complained of back pain. No one else was hurt in the accident. “If they were on time with that six-month testing, they may have caught that break in the cable” that caused the rupture, Fryer said. “The cable broke from normal wear.”

Knott’s spokeswoman Michele Wischmeyer said the park has “worked with the state to rectify any statements and concerns they found. … I am aware of the state report, and I am aware that those two shortcomings are in the report.”

Park officials are expected to make a statement about the state’s findings later on Tuesday. State inspectors finished their evaluation of the Xcelerator on Tuesday, meaning Knott’s Berry Farm can restart the attraction at any time.

“We do plan on opening (Tuesday),” Wischmeyer said mid-afternoon, “but we haven’t set a time yet.”

Here's a few more reports to discuss as well:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/04/inspectors-finds-shortcomings-at-knotts-rollercoaster-allows-it-to-reopen.html

State officials have allowed Knotts Berry Farm to reopen the Xcelerator, seven months after an accident injured two riders,.

The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) performed a final inspection earlier Monday of modifications made by Knott’s to the ride after the Sept. 16 accident and determined the ride was safe to operate, officials said.

The state found the manufacturer’s maintenance instructions for the ride confusing, officials said, making it unclear if the cable should be inspected monthly or every six months. Knott’s was inspecting the cable every six months instead of every month as the manufacturer intended, officials said.


In a statement, the theme park said the state’s report “identified shortcomings in the manufacturer’s instructions regarding the inspection and maintenance of the cable” and that Cal/OSHA had “required Knott’s Berry Farm to put into place additional safeguards to determine cable viability and to work with the manufacturer to revise maintenance instructions.”

“Ride safety is our highest concern at all times,” said Knott’s spokeswoman Michele Wischmeyer.

http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_14963610?nclick_check=1

BUENA PARK, Calif.—State inspectors say a rollercoaster accident at Knott's Berry Farm in Orange County could have been avoided if the ride had been inspected more often.
California Occupational Safety and Health says the manufacturer of the Xcelerator, Intamin, is also to blame because it didn't explain how often the ride's launching cables should be inspected.

Cal-OSHA spokesman Dean Fryer says Knott's tried to clarify the inspection schedule, but Intamin never responded.

Last September, a cable on the steel rollercoaster snapped and cut a 12-year-old boy's leg. Another man complained of back pain. At the time, the ride was three weeks overdue for its six-month inspection.

Knott's spokeswoman Michele Wischmeyer says the park will address the state's concerns and comment further on Tuesday.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/04/knotts-coaster-accident-blamed-on-inadequate-maintenance-state-says.html

A state investigation found that a 2009 roller coaster accident that injured two riders at Knott's Berry Farm could have been prevented with proper maintenance, casting blame on both the theme park and the ride manufacturer.

Xcelerator, a $13-million, hydraulic-launch accelerator coaster that opened at the Buena Park theme park in 2002, reopened Monday evening after Knott's made modifications required by the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health.

In a statement, the theme park said the state’s report “identified shortcomings in the manufacturer’s instructions regarding the inspection and maintenance of the cable” and that the state agency had “required Knott’s Berry Farm to put into place additional safeguards to determine cable viability and to work with the manufacturer to revise maintenance instructions.”

The dramatic accident on Sept. 16 -- which left a 12-year-old boy with a cut leg and a man with back injuries -- was captured by an onboard video camera.

In the video, viewed more than 100,000 times on YouTube, a blast of debris sprayed riders as a cable snapped loose during the zero-to-80 mph hydraulic launch up the distinctive 205-foot-tall top hat element. As the train descended back toward the station, frantic riders tried to free themselves from the smoking coaster.

Cal-OSHA found fault with both Knott's and the ride manufacturer, Switzerland-based Intamin AG, said agency spokesman Dean Fryer.

The state found the manufacturer's maintenance instructions for the ride confusing, Fryer said, making it unclear if the cable should be inspected monthly or every six months. Knott's was inspecting the cable every six months instead of every month as the manufacturer intended, Fryer said.

An Intamin spokesperson could not be reached for comment.

The state also said Knott's was 19 days late on the six-month cable inspection at the time of the accident, Fryer said.

A similar accident involving an Intamin coaster occurred in 2004 at Knott's sister park, Cedar Point in Ohio, when metal debris from a launch cable struck four riders on the 420-foot-tall Top Thrill Dragster.

The Xcelerator accident was the second major incident at Knott's involving an Intamin ride. In 2001, a 40-year-old woman fatally fell from the Perilous Plunge water ride built by Intamin.

See, in none of these articles.... not a one, does it even mention ANYTHING about a faulty cable or that the vendor of the cable had rouge defects infiltrating parks rides.

Personally, it just makes Theme Park Review look bad when we all start doing this and gives us ZERO credibilty.

So please, try to use ACTUAL REAL INFORMATION to forumate your discussions, not made up, frabricated fictional stores.

Thank you for your understanding...

--Robb

[AllenA07My small thing speaks for itself]

Robb I fully apologize, I admittedly quickly skimmed over the article and never took the time to click the link like I should have. That clearly lays out why Intamin was liable which is what I was trying to guess at. I really do attempt to make thoughtful posts on this site, and hate making obvious oversights like this. Now onto other matters...

I would at this point however be interested to know what Intamin instructs were here. You would think after the SFKK incident they would be pretty clear in regards to inspection! However it seems like if there was any question between monthly inspection and inspections every 6 months, the park should have erred on the side of safety.

The state found the manufacturer’s maintenance instructions for the ride confusing, officials said, making it unclear if the cable should be inspected monthly or every six months. Knott’s was inspecting the cable every six months instead of every month as the manufacturer intended, officials said.

I look at that statement and am confused by it. So as I read this Intamin wanted monthly inspections. Knotts was inspecting every 6 months. Ok I get that it was confusing and that Knotts was unclear as to if inspections should occur on a monthly basis or once every 6 months. However the article says:

Knott’s was nearly three weeks overdue for a six-month inspection when the cable in question snapped on Sept. 16.

So doesn't this mean that it is a moot issue? Even if Knotts was wrong and was inspecting every six months, they were still 3 weeks behind. I simply don't see an excuse for that additional three week period that the park did not inspect the cable.

[fatdaddyI'm 39 and can't find the Shift Key]

Actually, all the speculations started after, people started saying they couldn't understand how they could find any fault with intamin. Seeing what you just posted its clear that it was concerning the inspection schedule. Which, as i stated before, perhaps if the cable had been inspected every month instead of every six months some flaw may have been detected earlier. Yes, Knott's was late. Yes, they are at fault. But what if this had happened three months after an inspection, because it wasn't inspected on a monthly basis. Yes, its hypothetical, but all the intamin fans won't accept that there could be any blame on the company. If this was vekoma people would have had a field day making jokes. And as far as a faulty cable, the cable was replaced sometime around december 08 and as far as i know its replaced yearly, i could be wrong. The ride was down long periods of time right before this incident. Allot of parts on the launch system were replaced, etc.. The bottom line is that there is speculation about the cable simply because its the part of the ride that broke. Now i have another theory, but since this has turned into a pissing match ill keep them to my self.

In a related note, a bag of Entenmann donuts snapped and flew into my mouth ruining my diet, leaving powdered sugar everywhere. There is no video of the incident.

[coasterride509I Guess Donkeys Are Okay]

The Intamin cable launch system is getting too unreliable. Time for a new launch system.
RESURGENCE of the LIM'S!!

[austinleeDon't let this donkey melt you with its laser eyes!]

I don't think the Screamin' Swing is worth paying extra to ride, but if anyone is interested, I noticed a special price they are offering for Season Passholders. $3 for one rider or $5 for two riders. Normally it is $5 per rider.

[G-Force!Beware of the Magic Donkey at Lotte World!]

I'm a bit surprised as I haven't seen this mentioned yet, but one of Xcel's supports have been painted to it's former original color (Seafoam Green). The best part is, it looks GREAT and you can clearly see just how much the colors have faded over the years. I think Xcel might finally be getting its long awaited paint job! I apologize but I don't have a picture of it but its a support near the bottom of the drop.