After Tilt-A-Whirl 'malfunction,' Thomas Amusements gets ready for new season

The last week of the 2018 season came to a screeching halt for Thomas Amusements, after one of its rides malfunctioned and crashed.

But the family-owned company says it's confident the rides are all safe, primed and ready to go for this summer's launch, says owner Jared Thomas.

"We look forward to a very safe, very exciting, very fun season in 2019," Thomas said.

On Sept. 23, there was a malfunction on the Tilt-A-Whirl ride, which that day was stationed outside the Jack Byrne Arena in Torbay.

At the time, CBC spoke with a mother who was on the Tilt-A-Whirl with her two daughters when one of the seats, it seemed, came off the ride, coming close to their faces.

Witnesses at the time reported seeing one of the cars come off the ride's base, and a father and daughter landing on the ground.

In an email to CBC News, Service NL said the incident was caused by an undersized pin becoming dislodged. The pin, which keeps the cart on the pedestal from coming out of position, meant the cart overturned while the ride was on.

Service NL recommended all the other pins be checked and replaced if necessary.

There were only minor injuries reported, Thomas said, and an ambulance that responded to the scene assessed the family involved and said they didn't require medical attention.

"The people that were involved are wonderful people and we had brief conversations in the days that followed, and I was so grateful to find that they were very positive," Thomas said.

The travelling amusement ride company shut the ride down, while the other rides kept operating. But the next day, Thomas Amusements shut down for the season a week ahead of schedule, a decision Thomas said he didn't make lightly.

"It is the human element … that was the hardest decision for me to make, was to not participate in the final week," he told CBC's St. John's Morning Show.

"I was certain that the media attention would distract the staff and I didn't want there to be a distraction, which could lead to a safety issue."

'This was very hard for us'

Thomas said it was a difficult decision to make, adding he was confident the other rides were safe.

But it's better to err on the side of caution, Thomas said, when something like this happens — even though it was the first time he's ever seen something like it in his 17 years with the company.

"We really focus on safety and providing a fun, safe environment, and that really just shook myself. I wanted to make sure that we had time to review all of our policies and guarantee that nobody would be distracted going into the final week," he said.

"It is a family business … Our children ride the rides, our friends' children. I coach hockey and my players would attend Thomas Amusements. Our paramount responsibility is to ensure a safe environment for everybody, so this was very hard for us."

Despite that, Thomas said he's spent the time since beefing up protocols, based on recommendations from Service NL inspections that happened right after the incident.

"They gave us some recommendations to ensure this didn't happen again and we have followed through and completed all of those," he said.

"We had a very strong two-person inspection routine and it is a scenario where we have bolstered an existing inspection routine, we have added additional layers to make sure that nothing like this could happen again."

Thomas Amusements is set to start its season in Kelligrews, Conception Bay South, on June 10, and Thomas wants to assure people the rides are safe.

"We have rides as new as a 2013, we have rides as old as into the '60s, but they are maintained on a similar maintenance schedule as aircraft. As long as your maintenance is up to date, your ride is effectively up to date, as any big piece of industrial equipment," he said.

The Tilt-A-Whirl ride that malfunctioned is from 1975, but has had annual upgrades and every 10 years a "substantial overhaul," and underwent more extensive inspections before the start of this season.

"This is not what you want to have happen, ever. This is the thing that keeps you diligent to make sure that you're always ready for any circumstance that comes up in the safety world because you want to minimize the possibility that this would ever happen," Thomas said.

"We have 60 years of history, and I hope we have 60 years in the future to come."

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