Kaitlyn Lassiter was having a fun day at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom with two of her friends when the unthinkable happened. The Superman Tower of Power Accident would leave her forever scarred, would change the park forever, and have a huge effect on the theme park industry.
Kaitlyn Lassiter was reriding
She and her two friends had already ridden the drop tower once on June 21st, 2007. The line wasn’t very long. Because of that, they decided to ride it again. It was on this ride at about 20 feet in the air that they heard and felt something different. A cable had snapped on the ride. A fun day at the theme park quickly changed to horror as the cable was swinging back and forth and had already given her some cuts. The ride attendants heard something different, but they failed to hit the emergency stop button which could have prevented what was to come next.
Kaitlyn Lassiter would lose both her legs
The ride finished its complete cycle despite the incident happening. It was on the descent down that Kaitlyn Lassiter would have her legs cut off. She and her friends were screaming but according to her statements in the lawsuit that would follow, she hadn’t realized just what had happened when they came back down to the ground. Emergency vehicles would be rushed to the scene, and she was sent to a local hospital for treatment.
Superman Tower of Power History
The ride was new for the 1995 season when it premiered under its original name Hellevator. An Intamin Drop Tower that would bring riders up 177 feet, dangle them for a couple of seconds, then release it, and let the cars freefall to the bottom. The ride operated as is until 2007 when it got rethemed. What was once Hellevator become Superman Tower of Power.
It would only operate until the day that Kaitlyn Lassiter would ride it with her two friends. It would be demolished before the park’s ’08 season. Superman would never fly again.
Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom was never the same
After the Superman Tower of Power Accident, the park’s attendance would drop. They would operate for both the 2008 and ’09 seasons but the public faith in the safety of the rides was forever damaged. What was once a bustling theme park became deserted. It was no shock to anyone that they wouldn’t open for the 2010 season. Their lease wasn’t renewed. At the same time, Six Flags corporation was also having its own bankruptcy woes.
A Huge Effect on the Theme Park Industry
Immediately every park that had a similar ride would close their drop tower while an investigation was done. All parks had to spend some money upgrading their towers to make sure something like this couldn’t happen again. Just one incident at a park is big news. Public trust in the safety of rides is essential for the theme park industry to continue. The Drop towers became less popular since this incident. Once it looked like all parks across the country would have one. Now, this ride type is becoming less and less common.
What went Wrong?
This like almost every accident at the park was very preventable. The ride wasn’t being properly maintained by Six Flags. When a park buys a ride from a manufacturer it comes with a list of instructions on how to take care of it. Things that should have been inspected weren’t.
Yet the ride came with an emergency stop button. If the ride attendant had chosen to hit it immediately, as they should have then Kaitlyn Lassiter would still have both her legs today. Instead of hitting the button, they picked up a phone to ask someone else what they should do. Then ultimately if the ride attendant would have been trained on the proper procedures this wouldn’t have happened.
Kaitlyn Lassiter would reach a settlement
On Nov. 21st, Kaitlyn Lassiter and the Six Flags corporation reached a settlement. The details of which have never been disclosed. It would seem that it was substantial enough that she won’t have to worry about money again. However, all the life plans she had were forever altered on the day of the Superman Tower of Power Accident.
Thankfully no one was killed in the accident. The theme park industry is mostly a self-regulated industry. Meaning that they have laws but as an industry, they do way more than is expected by law. This preventable incident should never have happened. Because of it all of the rides were updated to ensure this doesn’t happen again. Also, the example of how the park never recovered served as a terrible example to those that want to stay in business should inspect what needs inspecting and provide better training to employees.
Thankfully in 2014 Kentucky Kingdom would get a new drop Tower. FreeFALL is a Larson Internation replacement for Superman. In our visits, it doesn’t ever seem to get the line it deserves. It would seem that the public still has some trust issues.
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