Second crack or break found on Carowinds’ damaged roller coaster, state confirms
A second crack or break was found in Carowinds largest roller coaster, the state agency inspecting Fury 325 confirmed Friday.
Fury 325 has been closed since June 30 after a park visitor spotted the first broken support beam as a cart full of riders went by the pillar.
Bolliger & Mabillard Consulting Engineers Inc., the Swiss company that designed and built the roller coaster, replaced the steel column in mid-July.
Inspections by B&M, Carowinds, a third-party testing firm and North Carolina Department of Labor’s Elevator and Amusement Device Bureau are ongoing. The park also ran 500 test cycle runs at night following the installation.
But on Friday, the Department of Labor said a second “weld indication, which could either be a crack or a break,” was found as its investigation of the ride continues.
The department did not say what part of the coaster they found it on, nor did it say when the latest problem was found.
The roller coaster will not reopen until the state agency approves a certificate of operation, which it has not done. There also is no timeline for when Fury 325 is expected to open, the Labor Department said in an emailed statement to The Charlotte Observer.
The agency declined to say if any additional problems were uncovered, and referred further comment to Carowinds. Carowinds did not immediately respond Friday to a request for comment about when and where the second crack was found on the roller coaster, or how it will be repaired.
The 408-acre amusement park straddles the state line for the Carolinas. The NC Labor Department oversees the inspection of Fury 325 because its nearby entrance is in North Carolina, in Charlotte, Labor Commissioner Josh Dobson told the Observer in a recent interview.
WSOC first reported about a possible second crack.
What Carowinds is saying about new concern
In a statement emailed to the Observer on Thursday, Carowinds said it is conducting a full maintenance review of the ride during the testing.
“During such reviews, it is not uncommon to discover slight weld indications in various locations of a steel superstructure. It is important to note that these indications do not compromise the structural integrity or safety of the ride,” Carowinds said. “Once a repair is completed, it undergoes inspection and approval before the ride is deemed operational.”
Because of the ride’s structural failure, Carowinds said it is changing how it inspects rides daily, including using drone cameras to examine hard-to-reach areas. It’s unclear if ride inspection changes are for Fury 325, all of its roller coasters or all of its rides.
One of the key questions that Carowinds has yet to answer is how its inspectors missed the original problem, and only learned about it from a visitor to the amusement park.
Carowinds details plans to fix damaged Fury 325 coaster and strengthen inspections
About Fury 325
Fury 325 debuted in 2015 featuring a 1.25-mile track reaching top speeds of 95 mph and a height of 325 feet with three 32-passenger open air trains.
It’s been named the best steel roller coaster in the world for six years in a row by industry publication Amusement Today.
Fury 325 is North America’s longest steel coaster, and it crosses both North and South Carolina state lines.
Bolliger & Mabillard has built 124 roller coasters worldwide, according to Roller Coaster Database. Along with Fury, the company built three other Carowinds roller coasters — Intimidator, Vortex and Afterburn.
New column installed on Fury 325 roller coaster at Carowinds to replace damaged one
PHOTOS: More images of Carowinds cracked roller coaster before it was shut down
