Accident: 170871396 - Fall - Slipped Trying To Free Ski Lift Chair

A maintenance crew for a ski resort was removing a ski lift chair from an exhibition ski lift for an annual inspection. One of the employees was working from a scaffold, tied in with a harness. To remove the chair from the lift cable, he was to loosen the cable clamp, attach the chair to a hoist, and lower it to the ground. The employee operating the ski lift stopped the cable about 50 to 100 millimeters too far, which ran the cable clamp under a sheave, binding it. Seeing the problem, the employee on the scaffold apparently disconnected his harness and climbed up the tower ladder and out onto the sheave assembly so that he could pry up the sheave wheel with a crescent wrench. As he was prying with the wrench, he slipped and fell 4.6 meters to the ground. He sustained a compound fracture of his arm and was hospitalized.

fall, fall protection, slip, work surface, amusement ride, fracture, arm

Accident: 170572838 - Fall - Wire Rope Support Failure

An employee was operating a Climb-N-Dangle rock-climbing wall at an amusement park. The wire rope by which he was suspended broke, allowing him to fall 4.6 meters to the ground. He fractured his right wrist in the fall.

fall, fall protection, amusement ride, wrist, fracture, amuse park/carnival

Accident: 200270833 - Crushed While Greasing Amusement Ride

Three employees were greasing a carnival ride. Two of them were under the ride. The third employee was standing on a platform above the ride. One of the employees under the ride (employee #1) instructed the worker next to him to hold the end of the grease gun while the first employee pumped the gun. Employee #1 instructed the employee on the platform to begin turning the upper rim of the ride, which sat at a 15-degree angle during operation. As the employee on the platform began to turn the rim, the heaviest part of the ride rotated down hill. Its momentum caused the ride to continue turning. The second employee under the ride dove to the ground out of the way of the rotating supporting structure. Unfortunately, employee #1 was crushed between the ride's rotating turret and the stationary trailer frame. He died of his injuries.

amuse park/carnival, amusement ride, lubricating, lockout, unstable position, crushed

Accident: 658450 - Crushed By Moving Amusement Park Ride

A 16-year-old amusement park ride attendant was killed when he fell under the moving frame of the ride.

amuse park/carnival, amusement ride, crushed, fall

Accident: 201611308 - Struck In Head By Rotating Amusement Ride

Two employees were leveling a carnival ride situated on a small flatbed trailer. The manually operated ride was a twirling sphere within a sphere (called a "Spaceball") that simulates a gyroscope and twirls in various directions. The "spheres" were constructed of 51-millimeter-diameter steel pipe formed into one or more interlocked circles. The operator helps the rider into the seat, straps the rider in, and then manually turns the middle sphere. After the operator gets that one in motion, he or she steps back and starts rotating the outer sphere. One of the two employees asked his coworker to try the ride to check make sure it was level. After the coworker was strapped in, the operator started turning the inner sphere, then stepped back and rotated the outer sphere. As he did this, he bent downward and inside the rotating outer sphere. The outer sphere struck the operator on the back of the head. He then pulled back and fell over backwards, suffering serious head injuries. The employee was hospitalized for his injuries.

amuse park/carnival, amusement ride, head, rotating parts, fall, inattention

Accident: 170572515 - Head Lacerated By Amusement Ride

Employee #1 was operating the King Frolic ride. He had just loaded the passengers and started up the ride when he noticed a child climbing over the fence. He went to tell the child to get down when he saw that the child was headed toward the moving ride. Employee #1 ran to the youngster in time to prevent him from being struck by one of the ride's tubs, but in doing so, was struck on the back of the head. Employee #1 sustained deep lacerations that required 30 stitches to close.

head, laceration, amuse park/carnival, amusement ride, struck by