Fatal Roller Coaster Accident at Japan's Expoland

SUITA, Osaka -- Mechanics at an amusement park, where a woman died and 19 were injured when a roller coaster broke an axle and derailed, chose not to conduct a axle inspection in January after their boss deemed it not urgent.

 

"We only learned that it's compulsory to conduct flaw tests (to see any invisible cracks in roller coasters) under the Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS) after the accident. None of the 24 licensed mechanics in the company knew that either," said Jun Tatebe, who heads the technical division of Expoland in Suita.

 

Expoland had conducted flaw tests on its Fujin Raijin II roller coaster in January or February every year. This year, however, the company had decided to postpone inspections until mid-May.

 

When asked why it was postponed, Tatebe had said the depot at the park was filled with vehicles in preparation for contructing a new attraction.

 

However, after it was pointed out that there was enough space in the depot in March for an inspection of the roller coaster, Tatebe said, "Our past flaw tests never found any cracks, so I thought it was alright to postpone the inspection by three months."

 

"Flaw tests can be conducted outdoors. We should've placed priority on safety without postponing the inspection. I'd learned how to conduct inspections from senior mechanics, but I was working based on my misconceptions. It was my mistake," he said.

 

The Building Standards Law stipulates regular inspections of roller coasters. Moreover, the JIS specifies details of inspected items. (Mainichi)

http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/national/news/20070509p2a00m0na004000c.html

They didn't think it was necessary to make an inspection? I can only imagine how awful they must feel for having caused a death like this...

I doubt this ride will ever open again, due to the superstitious minds of most (not all) of the Japanese culture. Only time will tell I suppose.

The fact that they put off the inspection makes me wonder if they have done the same for other rides? I would hope that isn't the case, but who knows. I do hope though that the park at least will be open for everyone who is on the Japan trip.

Safety is obviously not their #1 priority if they deemed that since a problem didn't occur previous years. How stupid. Also, it seems like the coaster was running on one set of wheels till it hit the bottom of that hill and it probably lost so much momentum that it stopped and tilted over.

Why would the ride be torn down? The problem with the ride was due to poor maintainance... Regardless of the fact that this is a togo

Japanese culture takes ride accidents very seriously. Steel Dragon 2000 was closed for 3 years because of a non-fatal accident, that one Arrow suspended coaster was closed permanently (I dunno if it's still standing) because of a non-fatal accident...you get the idea. Trust me, this coaster will never operate again.

It never happen on SFGADV's Viper because it was very well maintained. I worked on it for three seasons (96-98) and it ran very well. A cable did snap once but engineers did not see a problem with the structural integrity of the ride and it reopened within a few hours. The ride's valleying issues were because of grease on the trains that GADV used which was not the approved weight Togo recommended (hence why SF lost the lawsuit).

I’m still wondering how this never happened to Viper at Great Adventure though

 

Its a good thing that was torn down and scrapped before anything happened. I hope this coaster meets the same fate.

Keep in mind, there hasn't been a new stand-up roller coaster built since 1999 when Georgia Scorcher was built at SFOG.

Coincidentally, I believe that was also the year that the gimmicky fad died out too (thankfully).

Keep in mind, there hasn't been a new stand-up roller coaster built since 1999 when Georgia Scorcher was built at SFOG.

Coincidentally, I believe that was also the year that the gimmicky fad died out too (thankfully).

well, there isn't that much you can do with a stand-up that you can't do with a sit-down. The only really unique stand-up coaster I have been on was "Riddler's Revenge". Stand-ups were a great idea, just started a little too soon.....

well, there isn't that much you can do with a stand-up that you can't do with a sit-down. The only really unique stand-up coaster I have been on was "Riddler's Revenge". Stand-ups were a great idea, just started a little too soon.....

The problem isn't that you can't do much with a stand up that can't be done on a sit down.

The problem is that there's alot a sit down can do that a stand up cannot.

Standups are like flyers in that they are much more restricted to the types of elements they can perform.

Wow. Thats very sad. And best wishes go to everyone hurt in the accident. And the one women who was killed. lol

Im still kind of confused about what had happened.

-The train can off the track, coliding into the gardrail? and the seats came off?

Im not completly shur.

Does anyone know if any other Togo coaster are still running or are they shut down

Wow. Thats very sad. And best wishes go to everyone hurt in the accident. And the one women who was killed. lol

 

Im still kind of confused about what had happened.

 

-The train can off the track, coliding into the gardrail? and the seats came off?

 

Im not completly shur.

You really need to buck up with your spellings, kid.

The wheel's axle snapped, causing the right hand side to come loose. The vibrations increased so much the car tipped left, causing the restraints (and the womans head) to scrape along the catwalk next to the train...

Reports say the axles on the ride haven't been replaced in 15 years.