| Office of Information and Public Affairs | Washington, DC 20207 |
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | |
| November 1983 | |
| Release # 83-056 |
Washington, D.C. --Because of concern over an incident associated with an amusement ride known as Enterprise, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is alerting residents in the areas of West Palm Beach and Lakeland, Florida, and in Valdosta, Georgia, of the operation of similar rides in those cities.
The incident occurred in Dallas, Texas, on October 17, 1983, and is now under investigation by the Commission and other interested parties.
The CPSC is concerned about the continuing operation of those rides pending the completion of its investigation of the Dallas incident.
In the Dallas incident, one person was killed and a number of other individuals were injured when a gondola car became dislodged and fell to the ground. The Commission is currently conducting a complete disassembly and engineering analysis of that ride..a process that may take several weeks ..and thus does not yet know the specific cause of the death and injuries. In addition, the company has pointed out that the Commission has not completed its investigation and evaluation of the safety of the Florida and Georgia rides.
The Enterprise ride contains 20 cars attached to sweep arms from a center boom. The ride starts out in a horizontal position, and, while rotating, the ride is elevated to an almost vertical position. The ride which is manufactured by Heinr. Wilhelm Huss & Co., located in the Federal Republic of Germany, is manufactured for both mobile and stationary use.
The Commission is aware of 61 deaths on amusement rides occurring from 1973 through 1981. CPSC estimates there are an average of seven deaths annually on all amusement rides--both fixed and mobile--nationwide. Until the Dallas incident, the Commission was not aware of any deaths involving the Enterprise ride.
Twenty-two states have some type of legislation concerning amusement rides. Of these, three require only insurance inspections. The remaining 19 states have inspections conducted by state officials.
CPSC acts as a clearinghouse for injury information and ride incidents involving mobile rides in all states. CPSC investigates, as appropriate, mobile ride incidents.