Excessive corrosion blamed for deadly
Ohio ride failure
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[August 07, 2017]
(Reuters) - The "catastrophic
failure" of a thrill ride that broke apart in July at the Ohio State
Fair, killing one person and injuring seven others, stemmed from
excessive corrosion in a support beam, its manufacturer said on Sunday.
The corrosion in the Fireball ride, which hoists people in the air and
spins them around, "dangerously reduced the beam's wall thickness over
the years," Dutch manufacturer KMG International BV said in a statement
posted on its Facebook page.
A few days after the deadly incident in Columbus, Ohio, KMG instructed
operators to suspend the use of similar rides. On Sunday, it said it was
developing a safety protocol to allow properly inspected and maintained
rides to safely reopen.
The company said it had dispatched investigators to Columbus, where they
looked at video footage of the incident and conducted a metallurgical
test of the 18-year-old ride.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2017/Aug/07/images/ads/current/ldn_more1_sda_121715.png)
Ohio State Fair officials were not immediately available for comment.
Tyler Jarrell, 18, who had just enlisted in the U.S. Marines, was killed
when seats snapped off the ride.
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![](../images/080717pics/news_I13.jpg)
A ride called Fireball malfunctioned causing numerous injuries at
the Ohio State Fair in Colombus, Ohio, U.S. July 26, 2017. Bruce
Lamm/@OntheLamm/Social Media Website/via REUTERS
![](../images/ads/current/richardson_lda_071317.png)
Since 2010, there have been 22 U.S. fatalities, including Jarrell,
linked to amusement attractions, according to the U.S. Consumer Product
Safety Commission, which is investigating the Ohio incident. That
excludes work-related incidents and fatalities at water parks or slides.
The Fireball has seats in a circular configuration at the end of an
arm that swings riders in a pendulum motion. It can hoist them up to
40 feet (12 meters) in the air and spin them at 13 revolutions per
minute, according to Amusements of America, which operates rides.
(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz in Austin, Texas; Editing by Lisa Von
Ahn)
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