RWS horror! Seat fly off the speeding star attraction Battlestar Galactica

[MM.Thaksin]

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1076260/1/.html

Cracks found on Battlestar Galactica's seat-post support
By Imelda Saad | Posted: 20 August 2010 2331 hrs


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SINGAPORE : It was cracks on the ride that grounded Universal Studio's roller coaster, the Battlestar Galactica.

Releasing its preliminary findings, Resorts World Sentosa said that after months of load testing, higher than anticipated stress and vibration levels caused fatigue cracks to develop in a welded component on the roller coaster's seat-post support.

This is the part which attaches the coaster's seat to its frame.

The original welded component will now be replaced with a new machined part.

Additional strength-reinforcement parts will also be added.

Battlestar Galactica consists of two individual roller coasters running on parallel 'cross-twisted' tracks, with the 'Human' coaster designed as a seated ride car and the 'Cylon' coaster, a suspended ride car.

While the fault was found only on the 'Human' coaster, extensive inspection and testing of the 'Cylon' coaster indicated that additional machined and strength-reinforcement parts will also be added for maximum safety.

Resorts World said it is common for theme parks to conduct some re-engineering on new rides to address mechanical issues that may not have been completely anticipated by the original computer-generated designs for the ride.

It will be some time more before Battlestar Galactica re-opens.

After the new parts are installed, there will be another round of testing and inspection, which will begin next month.

Authorities will then have to re-certify the ride.

Battlestar Galactica has been closed since March.

On 25 March 2010, during its morning test cycle, Battlestar Galactica experienced a component failure of a ride seat-post support that resulted in the detachment of a seat assembly.

No one was on the ride and no one was injured. The ride was immediately shut down for investigative inspection and testing. - CNA/ms

 

[MM.Thaksin]

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_569059.html


Singapore
Home > Breaking News > Singapore > Story
Aug 21, 2010
Battlestar's falling seat
By Chua Hian Hou
Weakened by the repeated stress of the high-speed motion, a metal bar holding a seat to the chassis of Resort World's star attraction gave way, sending the seat clattering down to the ground. -- ST PHOTO: STEPHANIE YEOW

THE REASON behind Universal Studio's Battlestar Galactica roller-coaster's five-month-long shut-down is finally out.

Weakened by the repeated stress of the high-speed motion, a metal bar holding a seat to the chassis of Resort World's star attraction gave way, sending the seat clattering down to the ground.

Luckily for the ride operator, which on Friday ended months of speculation over the cause of the shut down, the seat on the red-coloured 'Human' car in question was unoccupied, so nobody was injured.

When the accident occurred on Mar 25, a week after the ride began taking passengers, the ride was going through its customary early morning testing, before taking passengers.

Following the incident, Universal Studios said in a two-page statement, 'the ride was immediately shut down for investigative inspection and testing.'

Since then, the roller-coaster that can hit speeds of up to 90km per hour has remained closed while Universal Studios and ride-maker Vekoma Rides, one of the world's biggest and most established roller-coaster companies tried to find out what happened - going as far as to dismantle the entire ride and X-ray various parts.