Dear heathhogs-ga;
Thank you for allowing me an opportunity to answer your interesting
question. The blowers which generate the air pressure on
?Moonbounces?, ?Air Castles?, ?Titanic Trampolines? and other
bounce-type amusement rides, when working properly, are generally
strong enough to compensate for small punctures in the structure
keeping it inflated ? at least adequately enough for the tear to be
addressed or to evacuate the riders. I didn?t find any reports that
specifically mentioned an incident or accident where an inflatable
ride simply ?popped? resulting in injury or death but there are a
number of reports that recount accidents related to high wind,
improper operation, equipment failure, etc. that directly contributed
to the collapse of an inflatable amusement resulting in fatalities or
injuries of riders:
You may find this 2001 report particularly interesting as it addresses
?some? of the issues:
US CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION
AMUSEMENT SAFETY BULLETIN
RE: INFLATABLE AMUSEMENT RIDES
http://www.cpsc.gov/LIBRARY/FOIA/FOIA02/os/amusemnt.PDF
While the report does not address the individual causes of each
accident, it specifically addresses the need for appropriately trained
operations personnel to be particularly attentive to anything which
might indicate or cause the inflating blowers to fail resulting in
sudden collapse causing riders to become trapped beneath the ceiling
or walls, or deflate to the point that a rider accidentally strikes
the ground below.
In this August 2002 CPSC report, the commission indicates that there
were 1,993 known non-occupational injuries treated at local emergency
rooms as a result of inflatable amusements in the year 2001 alone
suggesting that ?the upward trend for inflatable ride injuries over
the period 1997-2001 is marginally statistically significant?.
AMUSEMENT RIDE-RELATED INJURIES AND DEATHS IN THE UNITED STATES: 2002 UPDATE
http://www.cpsc.gov/library/amus2002.pdf
(TYPE OF INJURY DETAILS BEGIN ON PAGE 13)
(Perhaps easier to navigate is this html version of the report:
http://216.239.41.104/search?q=cache:w0GMiD-9dnkJ:www.cpsc.gov/LIBRARY/Amus2002.pdf+inflatable+amusement+INJURED&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
This report by National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS),
outlines some details about various amusement and attraction injuries.
The document is huge and I did notice a few instances where someone
was injured in an inflatable device, but not as a result of a
collapse. Because of the size of the document however, there may very
well be one that I might have missed.
NATIONAL ELECTRONIC INJURY SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM (NEISS)
AMUSEMENT DEVICE-RELATED SAMPLED ACCIDENT RECORDS 2001
http://www.saferparks.org/cpsc/amusement_incidents_2001.pdf
AMUSEMENT SAFETY.COM says ?Inflatable jumpers and slides run
neck-and-neck with carousels as the most dangerous amusement
attraction for young children, according to hospital emergency room
data provided by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Blow-overs and collapses due to equipment failure or improper setup
can, and do, cause catastrophic accidents.?
- So obviously, it DOES happen.
http://www.amusementsafety.com/def_inflatable.html
INDIVIDUAL CASE REPORTS
This brief report recounts a March 2001 incident where an inflatable
amusement was damage by high wind, subsequently collapsed and killed
one child and injured twelve others. A similar 1992 incident is also
mentioned:
WORKSAFE WESTERN AUSTRALIA
SIGNIFICANT INCIDENT SUMMARY
http://www.safetyline.wa.gov.au/pagebin/injrsign0216.pdf
(You can see an actual video of this tragic accident here: Do not to
watch this if you are easily disturbed:
PITTSBURGH NEWS CHANNEL
http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/team4/2363457/detail.html )
"A 20-foot-high inflatable air slide lifted up and rolled over when
one of two ropes tied to the air slide broke. Eleven children ages
4-11, and the 23-year-old male operator, were injured when they were
thrown or fell off the air slide...The operator was treated and
released. The 8-year-old male was hospitalized..."
Sacramento, CA, 1997
SAFER PARKS
http://www.saferparks.org/multi-victim_accidents.htm
"An 8-year-old male was hospitalized for injuries received when a rope
snapped on a 20-foot inflatable slide at an amusement park during a
state fair and the slide collapsed. Four others, including the boy's
sister, age 11, and and employee, age 28, were also injured."
Sacramento, CA, 1997
SAFER PARKS
http://www.saferparks.org/multi-victim_accidents.htm
??one of eight children on the amusement at the time and died from
head injuries received when it crashed to the ground. Thirteen other
children and two adults were also injured in the incident.?
NEWS.COM.AU
http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,7369483%255E1702,00.html
Ten children injured when inflatable trampoline allegedly deflated suddenly.
TITANIC LAWSUIT OVER CARNIVAL MISHAP
http://www.themeparksonline.org/tponews.asp?ID=1449
June 2000, Sherwod Park, Alberta Canada: Five teens injured when an
inflatable ride collapses suddenly:
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR LEISURE INDUSTRY CERTIFICATION TECHNICAL BULLETIN
http://www.naflic.org.uk/PDFBulletins/TB203.pdf
Scottsdale, Arizona: Several people injured when high winds topple and
collapse inflatable slide.
SAFER PARKS
http://www.saferparks.org/database/press_report_details.asp?ID=9
(Incident where a potential accident/injury was avoided)
?The ever-popular moon bounce was a big hit--except when it lost it's
air a few times and we decided to close it a little early. What was
the mystery to this strange deflation? Not until the fair's end, did
we discover the answer to this mystery: someone had noticed that it
kept getting accidentally unplugged at the connection! Next year,
we'll be sure to TAPE it together!
THE FUN
http://pages.ivillage.com/lses2002/springfair2002/id1.html
The following incidents were also found in the SAFER PARKS DATABASE. I
found two instances related to blowover or a rapid deflation resulting
in injury but there are a large number of other injuries due to
improper use, inadequate supervision, etc:
http://www.saferparks.org/database/query_by_ridetype.asp?Type=inflatable
MOONBOUNCE (1999) - "Patron had his head down in the corner of
Moonbounce. His brother fell down on top of him and the moonbounce
began to deflate. Patron was stuck in the corner for approx. 45
seconds, had difficulty breathing. Father went in to rescue them."
http://www.saferparks.org/database/AR_details.asp?ID=904328
MOONBOUNCE (2001) ? ?Two children were injured when an unsecured
inflatable blew over. One child hospitalized, another child was
treated for bumps and scrapes. Operators told the police that the ride
was unsecured because they thought it was heavy enough on its own.?
http://www.saferparks.org/database/press_report_details.asp?ID=43
I hope you find that my research exceeds your expectations. If you
have any questions about my research please post a clarification
request prior to rating the answer. Otherwise I welcome your rating
and your final comments and I look forward to working with you again
in the near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.
Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga ? Google Answers Researcher
INFORMATION SOURCES
Sources Defined Above
SEARCH STRATEGY
SEARCH ENGINE USED:
Google ://www.google.com
SEARCH TERMS USED:
INFLATABLE JUMPER COLLAPSE
INFLATABLE AMUSEMENT COLLAPSE
INFLATABLE RIDE COLLAPSE
INFLATABLE AMUSEMENT DIED
INFLATABLE AMUSEMENT INJURED
INFLATABLE AMUSEMENT COLLAPSE
INFLATABLE AMUSEMENT DEFLATED
INFLATABLE AMUSEMENT BURST |
