Sparks fly during second fair ride incident; no injuries reported
A second ride at the Washington County Fair closed following an incident Thursday night.
According to Wayne Hunnell, the fair’s director, one of the cars on the “Skydiver” ride malfunctioned and hit the deck, causing sparks. There were no injuries.
The Skydiver is a Ferris wheel-type ride where the cars freely flip upside down.
Hunnell said they are not certain what caused the car to come loose, but that it is possible a bearing failed.
“When it came down, there is very little clearance between the basket and the deck of the ride,” Hunnell said.
He added that there is normally about three-quarters of an inch between the cars and the deck.
Hunnell was nearby when the malfunction occurred. He said that the ride was stopped immediately.
The broken car was removed from the ride so they could safely operate the ride to let everyone off.
According to Hunnell, the ride will be reinspected before it is allowed to reopen.
The rides at the Washington County Fair are provided by Lisko Family Midway Amusements.
Pennsylvania law requires that rides pass an inspection every 30 days or every time it is set up for a new event.
“As far as I know, it had all the right inspections,” Hunnell said.
This is the second time inspectors have had to come to the fair this week. An inspector was there Thursday after a 3-year-old girl hit her head on the “Swing” ride Wednesday.
The ride operator had attempted to fix an issue with her seat’s cables while the ride was in motion, causing the girl’s head to hit a support beam.
The girl was taken to the hospital following the accident, but released after about two hours.