State investigators released a report about the tragic death of Tyre Sampson, 14, concluding that the teen fell from his seat on the Orlando FreeFall because a safety sensor was manually adjusted. Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried announced the operator of the ride had made manual adjustments to the harness restraints on two seats.
According to the report by Quest Engineering & Failure Analysis, if any single seat’s sensor indicated an unsafe condition, the safety lights would not turn on and the ride would not operate. Attorney Benjamin Crump, whose firm represents Sampson, said in a statement that Tyre’s death was preventable and a lawsuit says the drop ride was “unreasonably dangerous.”
The seats were manually adjusted after official inspection, the report also noted. Attorneys have already said they will take aim at the design, manufacturing, and marketing of the ride. They have indicated the family will be suing everyone involved, except for the teen operating the ride.
“This was the saddest day in the history of ICON Park and we’re working hard to make sure this never happens again,” ICON Park said in a statement.
In the interests of public safety, ICON Park demanded that the SlingShot Group suspend not only the operation of Orlando Free Fall but also the operation of Orlando Slingshot effective immediately after the tragic death. They said it will continue until a thorough investigation by the appropriate authorities has been completed and “all parties are satisfied that the rides are safe for the public.”
Sampson came to Orlando from St. Louis for spring break, and died after slipping out of his seat and falling from the 430-foot tower drop ride the night of March 24th. The teen was also above the maximum rider weight allowed, according to the manual produced by ride manufacturer Funtime Handels GmbH.
According to Fried’s report, the adjustments allowed the ride’s safety lights to “illuminate, improperly, satisfying the ride’s electronic safety mechanism that allowed the ride to operate, even though Mr. Sampson was not properly secured in the seat.”
“A full review of the ride’s design, safety, operation, restraint mechanisms and history should be performed, as this report just focuses on the physical evidence of the failure of the ride to secure Tyre Sampson,” the report said.
The Orlando FreeFall and the SlingShot attractions opened at the complex in December as the tallest free-standing drop tower in the world. The FreeFall took riders more than 400 feet in the air and tilted them 30 degrees, before a drop going 75 mph. The SlingShot stands at 300 feet and launched riders 450 feet.
The attractions remain shut down and dark at ICON Park.
