CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) -
There was a full inspection Thursday of the Windseeker ride at Carowinds Amusement Park. The company that operates the park wants to be sure it is functioning properly.
This after the same ride at a park in California stranded riders high in the air for hours last night.
Cedar Fair operates both Carowinds and Knotts Berry Farm in California where the ride became stuck last night.
A company spokesperson tells me it is standard operating procedure, when a ride is stopped with passengers on board, that the same ride in all of it's parks gets a once-over.
It's the second time this sky-high-scene at Knotts Berry Farm in California has played out. This time riders were stranded 300 feet up at the top of the Windseeker ride for nearly four hours. It might look eerily familiar to something visitors at Carowinds experienced back in July when two dozen riders were also stranded.
Park operator Cedar Fair says the safety systems in their rides can be activated at any point for any number of reasons and they are set to be extremely sensitive.
Even a minor issue that isn't a safety risk could set it off, but so could something mechanical. Either way when that happens the ride and it's riders have to be brought down manually. With a ride like Windseeker, that takes time.
A Cedar Fair spokesperson says it was not the same issue that stopped the ride here that stopped the one in California. She adds it's often not a mechanical issue that stops the rides, though she did not say exactly what caused the security systems to trigger.
"Safety is our number one priority. If there is ever any concern about a ride from a mechanical standpoint the ride would not be open. People should not be afraid of this ride. It would not be operating if there was a fear of anything happening," said Cedar Fair spokesperson Stacy Frole.
Cedar Fair has Windseeker rides at six of it's parks and they all got a look-see Thursday. Any time something like this takes place park operators do reach out to the manufacturer of the ride.
As long as the staff at Carowinds is comfortable with today's inspection of the Windseeker the ride will open as normal this weekend.
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