Would You Allow Your Child To Ride With A Complete Stranger?

Would You Allow Your Child To Ride With A Complete Stranger you had never met. In addition, none of your friends do not know them and they are probably from out of state. Now read this an think about the implications.

State clears Lifest ride, but not operator in fatal accident
Report does not place blame for death of Menasha teen

By Dan Wilson
Post-Crescent staff writer

Wisconsin Commerce Secretary Mary Burke said Friday that her department's investigation into the July 14 thrill ride accident that killed a Menasha girl "suggests there was operator error."

The Department of Commerce report concluded the Giant Swing ride was in good operating condition.

Elizabeth Mohl, 16, was killed when she fell about 50 feet from the ride during Lifest at the Sunnyview Expo Center in Oshkosh.

The report does not place blame for the accident.

"But the report does suggest operator error was involved," Burke said. "But it is not within the scope of our report to say that, but our findings do suggest that.

"The construction and the condition of the ride did not contribute to this accident."

According to the report, the Giant Swing ride consists of a large crane anchored to a trailer with a cable extending down over a ramp. The ride raises one to three riders into the air, then one of the riders pulls a release, which drops the riders and swings them back and forth.

Much of the report focuses on a D-ring attachment, called a caribineer that locks with a screw lock to the harness.

Asked if that was found in an open position, Burke demurred.

"It was found to be functional, I can't exactly say if it was fully locked or not," she said.

Burke said the equipment and her department's report were being turned over to the Oshkosh Police Department for further investigation.

While the equipment was not found to be faulty, the department banned Air Glory, the operator of the ride, from operating any rides in the state for the rest of the year and issued its owner 25 state citations.

Also, Air Glory is prohibited from operating any rides in the state for the next five years without a prior inspection.

Efforts to reach the owner of Air Glory, Gary Ross, were unsuccessful Friday.

The report said that one of the two people working that day had been on the job only two weeks and had a history of improperly hooking up riders.

"Mr. Ross also said Mr. (Derek) Armelin also had a tendency not to lock the carabineer after attaching the rider to the ride. Mr. Ross said he always worked on the left side when working with Mr. Armelin so that he (Mr. Ross) could check the carabineer before attaching the safety rope. Mr. Ross stated if the carabineer was locked, there would be no way it could come loose when a person was attached to it," said the report.

Of the citations issued, one related to the carabineer mechanism.

The citation said the ride only had one carabineer and rides of that type require two.

Burke said "having two does not necessarily mean it would have prevented (the accident) but one is sufficient if it is properly locked," she said.

The report also recommends enacting an emergency rule to "minimize the possibility of operator error by setting out explicit requirements for rides that suspend riders with carabineers, harnesses and wires."

The Giant Swing ride was inspected by state officials in 2003 when it was first registered, according to the report. Corrective orders were issued based on that inspection.

In August 2004, the ride was re-inspected and given a clean bill of health. The ride was not inspected in 2005. The ride was not registered in 2006 and did not return until this year, when it was scheduled for an inspection on July 17, three days after the accident.

"More frequent inspections would not have prevented this accident," said Burke.