A man who used to work as a maintenance technician for the now closed free fall ride on Orlando’s Icon Park claims that safety problems with the ride were ignored in the weeks before a teenager fell dead in March 2022.
In a lawsuit that was tightened on Wednesday, former technician Austin Campbell-Alexander said that he noticed “safety problems with the chairs and the overall structural integrity” of the Freefall Drop Tower somewhere around January 2022 before the 14-year-old Tyre Sampson died of falling the ride.
The lawsuit is brought against Orlando Eagle Drop Slingshot, the owner and operator of the ride and other affiliated companies, not in Icon Park.
Tyre Sampson, 14, died in March 2022 when a chair on the Orlando -free fall in Icon Park did not secure him, so he fell more than 100 feet. (Fox 35 Orlando)
The former technology “learned that the seats that were related to the free fall were manually bypassed by one of the Operations managers” when the ride opened, according to the court case obtained by Fox 35 Orlando. The manager is said to use a replacement sensor for two seats, so that they could “house larger customers on certain length and weight limits”.
“Such a override was deliberately dangerous for the public, because the manufacturer of the Freefall Ride set the weight and length limits for riders,” the court case stated.
Fox News Digital reported earlier that a business manual for the ride stated that the maximum passenger weight was just over 286 pounds.
Campbell-Alexander said he reported the “illegal and unsafe practice” to his supervisor, although the ride “went on Operation “outside the manufacturer’s guidelines.
The Orlando -free fall was dismantled in March 2023 after the permanent closure was announced in October 2022. (Fox 35 Orlando)
He also reported that he did not receive training for his position as maintenance technology and believed that this was the same for other employees responsible for “patron saint safety or the safe operation/maintenance of the ride itself.”
According to the court case, there were a handful of moments when Safety problems arose with the ride, Yet the ride remained open “when it should have been closed to guarantee the safety of the patron.”
In March 2022, Campbell-Alexander said that he and another employee noticed that a metal cylinder who was responsible for locking riders on their seats was “too hot”, so that the seats cannot be properly protected. A few days later they also saw cracks in the joints of the gondolas, which hold and transport all seats on the ride.
The Freefall Drop Tower Ride in Icon Park in Orlando, Florida, inspected on February 23, 2023. (Mom & paparazzi for Fox News Digital)
Sampson fell his death on March 24, 2022, because he was on the limit of the ride on 6-foot-5 and about 360 pounds, so the chair was not tied when the ride fell 400 feet at speeds of 75 km / h, the state researchers said after the incident.
During an investigation after Sampson’s death, Campbell-Alexander said that he was asked “to” fill empty maintenance logs and sign certain maintenance tasks “as if he and a colleague had carried out them.
The free fall was inspected before it was completely dismantled. (Mom & paparazzi for Fox News Digital)
He said that he objected to “confirm fraudulently” that he performed certain tasks, which led him to be placed on paid leave and started from the building. He said he stayed on leave while the defendants tried to solve A civil lawsuit With the Sampson family, and once that was arranged, he was fired on March 31, 2023.
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The law firm that represents Orlando Eagle Drop Slingshot sent a statement about the Campbell-Alexander lawsuit to FOX 35, claiming that the former technology was the one who adjusted sensors on the ride, resulting in his resignation.
“Our customers immediately investigated the tragic accident that resulted in the death of Tyre Sampson. When he discovered that Mr Campbell-Alexander adapted the sensors that resulted in the accident, he was suspended and illuminated of further involvement or access to all journeys,” said Trevor Arnold and Brian Bieber, Pa.
“When learning Mr Campbell-Alexander’s and other employees, we proactively informed the research authorities. We have at all times collaborated with the researchers. We have worked diligently to resolve the lawsuits and claims with Tyre’s family and to involve the administrative agencies with the Mr Campbelexander court.”
