Ride that left Knott’s patrons in sky put on pause
People on the Windseeker ride at Knott's Berry Farm are stuck a few hundred feet off the ground Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2012, in Buena Park, Calif. The ride held about 20 people in suspended above ground as the park's ride maintenance crews worked to get the passengers down_the riders were brought down a couple hours later and the park closed. (AP Photo/The Orange County Register, Rod Veal) MAGS OUT; LOS ANGELES TIMES OUT
BUENA PARK, Calif. >> The parent company of Southern California’s Knott’s Berry Farm says it’s temporarily shutting down all six of its Windseeker rides at parks in the U.S. and Canada after riders at Knott’s were stranded 300 feet high for 3½ hours this week.
Sandusky, Ohio-based Cedar Fair said in a statement Friday it will conduct an internal review to determine why the ride’s safety system has caused automatic shutdowns at parks in California, Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina and Canada.
Cedar Fair bought the attractions from Dutch-based Mondial Rides and opened them in 2011 and 2012 at parks including Ohio’s Cedar Point and Virginia’s Kings Dominion.
The ride at Knott’s has malfunctioned twice in the last month, most dramatically Wednesday when a frozen brake forced a shutdown and left 20 riders stranded until they could be safely brought down.
