Test dummies fly off Jersey shore coaster during safety run
In this May 24, 2018 photo, the Gale Force rollercoaster at Playland's Castaway Cove is Ocean City, N.J,., is shown. The amusement park ride was undergoing a routine safety check on April 20, 2019 when a pair of water-filled test dummies fell off and plummeted into a hotel next door, damaging the building's shingles and plywood. Park officials say that the mishap was due to a malfunction in the test dummies and that the ride is safe. (Dale Gerhard/Press of Atlantic City via AP)
OCEAN CITY, N.J. — The operators of a New Jersey shore amusement park say a roller coaster there is safe after a pair of water-filled test dummies fell off during a recent test ride.
The GaleForce coaster at Playland’s Castaway Cove in Ocean City was undergoing a routine safety check April 20 when the dummies plummeted into a hotel next door, damaging the building’s shingles and plywood.
Park officials say the dummies had undetected leaks that made them lose their mass and shape, causing them to fall. They say that wouldn’t happen to humans and that nothing on the ride failed during the test, including the lap bar that secures riders.
Officials say the coaster has run problem-free since the mishap and is tested daily for about two hours.
