Video footage went viral recently of a Delaware teenager falling 25 feet from the gondola of the Sky Ride amusement park ride at Six Flags Great Escape in Queensbury, New York. Onlookers standing below had reached up their arms to catch her as she fell, saving the 14-year-old’s life. The cause of her fall might not be related to any mechanical malfunction, but rather to Human Error on the part of the girl herself.

Authorities are still investigating the cause of the accident, with one expert in the industry saying that even with the best safety guidelines on an amusement park ride, accidents will still happen if customer’s don’t follow the safety rules.

Police said in a statement Monday that it appears the accident was caused by the actions of the teenage girl, rather than a mechanical malfunction on the ride itself.

Teenager slips under the restraining bar on the amusement park ride gondola

The teenager was in the Sky Ride gondola with her brother, when she suddenly slipped under a metal restraining bar. Her brother held her as she dangled briefly from the gondola, all the while screaming for help. Operators were notified of the situation and stopped the ride and as people gathered underneath, they urged her to let go, saying they would catch her. The teenager then fell the approximately 25 feet into their arms.

As can be seen from video footage taken of the incident, the onlookers cheered as the teenager fell into the arms of a group of people, before being taken to a park security golf cart and taken from the scene.

The teenager was treated at Albany Medical Center for various unspecified injuries and her name was not released by police.

‘Human error’ on the part of the teenager is likely the cause

As reported by the Post-Star, Lt. Steven Stockdale of the Warren County Sheriff’s Department said in an email it was “human error” on the part of the girl that caused her to slip under the restraining bar in the two-person gondola.

Police gave no further details on what the teenager may have done to cause the accident, other than to say the girl is going to be OK. The Post-Star reported that the girl may not have been paying proper attention, or had possibly been “fooling around” when it happened.

Following the incident, state inspectors cleared the Sky Ride to allow it to resume operation.

However, park officials made the choice of keeping the ride for at least one more day, pending an internal review. It is unknown if the ride will open Monday.

ABC News quotes Dennis Spiegel, who is the president of International Theme Park Services in Cincinnati, as saying he was familiar with the ride in question, having visited the park with his friend, the park’s founder Charles Wood. Spiegel said the gondola isn’t something a person could simply slip out of, but if a rider decided to circumvent safety regulations, it was possible. He said he wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t add safety belts or other safety restrictions on the ride in future.

According to police, the Sky Ride was functioning properly when the teenager and her brother climbed on it at around 8 p.m.
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