On Thursday July 6, 2023, Carowinds has disclosed its strategy for addressing the repair of the Fury 325 roller coaster, which last week suffered a significant crack.
The amusement park revealed that upon collaboration and a comprehensive inspection of the ride with Bolliger & Mabillard, the creators of Fury 325, they concluded that the crack emerged along a weld seam in the steel column of the support beam.
The park did not give an anticipated date for when the Fury 325 might be back in operation. Ever since the crack was reported to security last week, the ride has been inaccessible to visitors.
The park reassured patrons that it will undertake a rigorous series of tests to ensure the coaster’s safety once the replacement beam is fitted. This will involve running the ride for 500 complete cycles, with engineers meticulously inspecting the entire coaster throughout this phase. Once the testing phase concludes, both B&M and a third-party testing firm will conduct inspections to ensure the ride surpasses all safety requirements.
Carowinds is planning to introduce additional inspection methods to complement their routine checks. These enhanced procedures will involve the frequent use of drones for inspecting areas that are difficult to access.
Once all testing and inspections are finished, Carowinds aims to collaborate with the North Carolina Department of Labor to ready the ride for its reopening.
The full statement is below:
“Since July 1, the park’s maintenance team and representatives from the ride’s manufacturer, Bolliger & Mabillard Consulting Engineers Inc. (B&M), have conducted a thorough inspection of the entire track, support columns and foundation. In addition, and in partnership with B&M, we have performed a battery of tests to identify the cause of the fracture, which appears to have formed along a weld line in the steel column.
“Working in close coordination with B&M, we are planning to remove and replace the existing support column. The new support column, which is being fabricated by B&M, is expected to be delivered to the park next week.
“Following the installation of the new column, and as part of our normal protocol for rides such as Fury 325, we will conduct an extensive series of tests to ensure the safety and integrity of the coaster. These will include an accelerometer test that uses sensors to measure any variation in the ride experience. After that, we plan to operate the ride for 500 full cycles, performing tests and inspections of the entire ride throughout that period. Once this phase is completed, we will ask B&M and the third-party testing firm to perform a final inspection to ensure the ride exceeds all required specifications.
“B&M is regarded as one of the premier ride manufacturers in the world, with an impeccable reputation for quality and engineering. It’s important to understand that rides like Fury 325 are designed with redundancies in place to ensure the safety of guests in the event of an issue such as this.
“While we regularly inspect the coaster, we are planning to implement additional inspection procedures to ensure we are making every effort to promptly identify and address future potential issues. These new measures will include the regular use of drones outfitted with cameras to access and inspect hard-to-reach areas.
“The safety of our guests and associates will always be Carowinds’ top priority. Once the new support column is in place and all testing and inspections have been completed, we will work with the North Carolina Department of Labor’s Elevator and Amusement Device Bureau to prepare Fury 325 for reopening. We will share an update on the reopening of the ride when a date has been finalized.”
