Report: Weld problem spread to cause crack on Carowinds rollercoaster support
A North Carolina Department of Labor investigation found "unidirectional bending fatigue" to blame for the cracked beam that closed the Fury 325 rollercoaster at Carowinds for over a month last summer.
Inspectors say the crack happened along a weld that spread around the outside of the beam until it could not handle any more stress from the ride.
Jeremy Wagner, a Carowinds visitor, was the first to spot and report the crack in a support beam of the rollercoaster. His video of the problem went viral.
The ride manufacturer, Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M), replaced the cracked pillar with a steel column, then inspectors ran weeks of tests, including operating the rollercoast hundreds of times before it re-opened to public.
According to Carowinds.com, the Fury 325 is North America's longest steel coaster and is over 1.25 miles long. The ride, which lasts longer than 3 minutes, was voted "world’s best steel coaster" by Amusement Today.
The coaster is 325 feet high and moves at speeds as fast as 95 mph.
