Carowinds reopens Fury 325 roller coaster after repairing crack in support pillar
Carowinds’ roller coaster Fury 325 reopened Thursday after it closed for more than a month following the discovery of a cracked pillar on the ride.
One of the world’s tallest and most popular roller coasters was shut down June 30 after a crack in a support pillar was reported by a visitor, despite the park making its own daily inspections of all of its rides.
The announcement by the Charlotte amusement park stated that the ride was repaired and tested prior to its reopening. The North Carolina Department of Labor’s Elevator and Amusement Device Bureau inspected the ride, according to the news release.
A new steel support pillar for Fury 325 was installed July 14 by Bolliger & Mabillard, the roller coaster’s Swiss manufacturer. The park began extensive testing, testing the ride more than 500 times after the new pillar was installed.
B&M and a third-party testing firm conducted a final inspection to ensure the ride surpassed all required specifications, Carowinds said.
The park thanked the workers who helped repair the coaster and prep it for its reopening, adding, “We are excited to welcome back our guests to one of Carowinds’ most popular rides.”
Carowinds is owned by Ohio-based Cedar Fair, which operates a number of amusement parks around the country.
A Carowinds visitor spots the roller coaster crack
On June 30, a Carowinds guest captured on video the crack column shifting as riders flew by, oblivious to the potential for a catastrophe. Carowinds then shut down the coaster.
Carowinds said its technicians run daily inspections for mechanical, structural and electrical components, but it’s unclear how the crack wasn’t found before the park visitor.
After seeing the video, another park visitor looked back at her photo of the coaster taken a about a week earlier. It showed the beginning of the crack on the same column.
In late July, a second crack or break was found in Fury 325, the Labor Department confirmed The department did not say what part of the coaster they found it on, nor did it say when the latest problem was found.
Changes in amusement park ride inspections
The cause of the initial fracture also has not yet been released, and Carowinds did not mention a cause in its statement Thursday.
Because of the ride’s structural failure, Carowinds is changing how it inspects rides daily, including using drone cameras to examine hard-to-reach areas. It’s unclear if ride inspection changes are for Fury 325, all of its roller coasters or all of its rides.
All amusement rides at permanent locations, such as Carowinds, are licensed and inspected on an annual basis prior to the park opening by N.C. Labor Department’s Elevator and Amusement Device Bureau.
The annual state inspection of Fury 325 on Feb. 23 found only minor issues related to signage, state records show.
About the Fury 325 roller coaster
Based in Switzerland, B&M built Fury 325, as well as three other coasters at Carowinds. The 408-acre amusement park straddles the state line for the Carolinas.
Fury 325 debuted in 2015 and features a 1.2-mile track reaching top speeds of 95 mph and a height of 325 feet. It also features an 81-degree drop.
The coaster has three 32-passenger open air trains, and crosses into both North Carolina and South Carolina. And Fury 325 can accommodate about 1,470 people per hour.
Fury 325 been named the best steel roller coaster in the world for the last six years by industry publication Amusement Today.
On June 25, Carowinds celebrated on social media the coaster’s 500,000th rider of the season. Less than a week later, a video by Jeremy Wagner showed riders going over a fractured pillar.
Social media commenters appeared to be divided as word spread Thursday that the roller coaster finally had reopened.
Some welcomed the news and praised Carowinds’ work, while others said there was no way they’d get on it.
This story was originally published August 10, 2023 at 2:50 PM with the headline "Carowinds reopens Fury 325 roller coaster after repairing crack in support pillar."
