This one is a newer design by the company that makes these. They have a really good track record and this is one of the first big issues they've had in like 40 years or something.
They also made the Intimidator and 4 other coasters at the park, but this one was designed to use less support members I think. The Intimidator has about 1.5 times as many support columns for an almost identical ride design, just like 25% smaller.
The crack showed up on the first big banking turn right after the 325' drop that puts you at like 100mph, so what probably happened was the column they used at the apex of that bank had a combination of welding issues and possibly a steel grade issue.
Luckily that section of the coaster is one of the most reenforced, there's 3 more columns holding up the turn, meaning this section was only unsupported for about 30'. So I don't think anyone was ever in serious danger during the likely 2-3 hours of operation between the crack forming and the ride being shut down.
Carowinds also has an issue where they have wooden coasters that need insane maintenance budgets to keep running. They also have a standing coaster by the same company that is frequently shut down (not for track issues, but other stuff) and they spend a large portion of their maintenance budget on those.
Hopefully this gets the Charlotte City Council and the regulators attention and they can investigate how the maintenance budget of the park is being allocated.
This one is a newer design by the company that makes these. They have a really good track record and this is one of the first big issues they've had in like 40 years or something.
They also made the Intimidator and 4 other coasters at the park, but this one was designed to use less support members I think. The Intimidator has about 1.5 times as many support columns for an almost identical ride design, just like 25% smaller.
The crack showed up on the first big banking turn right after the 325' drop that puts you at like 100mph, so what probably happened was the column they used at the apex of that bank had a combination of welding issues and possibly a steel grade issue.
Luckily that section of the coaster is one of the most reenforced, there's 3 more columns holding up the turn, meaning this section was only unsupported for about 30'. So I don't think anyone was ever in serious danger during the likely 2-3 hours of operation between the crack forming and the ride being shut down.
Carowinds also has an issue where they have wooden coasters that need insane maintenance budgets to keep running. They also have a standing coaster by the same company that is frequently shut down (not for track issues, but other stuff) and they spend a large portion of their maintenance budget on those.
Hopefully this gets the Charlotte City Council and the regulators attention and they can investigate how the maintenance budget of the park is being allocated.
I do wonder if their B&M standup will get the Mantis treatment. It was a very rough ride when I went to Carowinds, which was ~2018 IIRC.
It's awful, a fun weird experience the first time, but not something you want to ride a bunch.