Sunday, July 27, 2014

Breaking News - Cable Snaps on Cedar Point's Skyhawk

The Sandusky Register is reporting that the Skyhawk ride at Cedar Point experienced a malfunction around 10:30pm Saturday, July 26th.

The cause of the accident has been reported as a cable snapping which caused damage to the ride's barrier. Reports are coming in that say that the cable snapped while the ride was at or near it's peak height of 125ft after a series of "loud bangs", according to a park employee, and the ride was not stopped mechanically, but by gravity.

 According to guests at the park, at least one person was hit by flying wood debris from this. However, there's no real confirmation on that. There's also been reports of another guest suffering a broken leg, but no sources have confirmed this and the park has not made any official statements regarding the accident yet.

Skyhawk, built by S&S Worldwide was opened in 2006 and can reach speeds upwards of 65mph. This particular ride has had issues in the past with cables snapping as well, and this marks the third accident in the past 8 years occurring with it.

The entire InSanity lurks Inside team hopes that everyone on the ride and surrounding area is alright and no major injuries occurred. We'll have more on this story as details develop.

UPDATE 12:54pm: Cedar Point has come out with an official statement regarding the incident;

Cedar Point spokesman Bryan Edwards released the following statement:

"At approximately 10 p.m., a cable on one of the Skyhawk swing ride's carriages disconnected. The ride's crew immediately shut down the ride and notified the park's emergency personnel. 
The cable came in contact with two guests. One was treated and released at the scene. As a precaution, the other was transported to a local hospital for evaluation.

Safety is our top priority at Cedar Point. Skyhawk will remain closed until our investigation is complete and the ride can safely reopen."

Images via the Sandusky Register

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