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Subscribe to RSSA dozen riders were rescued from a roller coaster at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in California after the ride stalled. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.
A new roller coaster stalled 150 feet above the ground Sunday afternoon, stranding a dozen riders for almost two hours at a Northern California amusement park, according to local reports.
Twelve passengers on the Superman Ultimate Flight roller coaster at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, Calif., became stranded atop the park’s newest ride when it stopped at its crest around 2:30 p.m., Six Flags spokeswoman Nancy Chan told the Vallejo Times-Herald.
Vallejo fire rescue crews were dispatched to the scene at about 3 p.m. after receiving an emergency call.
Park engineers prepared a large crane equipped with a big personnel bucket to reach the riders, and firefighters took up water and sunblock.
Park officials said crews had trained for this type of mission.
“We arrived; we put the crane that’s on site into place,” Vallejo Fire Department Batt. Chief Raymond Jackson said. “We’ve actually done some training in this in case this situation arose.”
Jackson said firefighters were prepared to take riders down individually in the crane if the coaster couldn’t be restarted, however, a mechanic managed to get the ride going again and riders were lowered safely to the ground.
Craig Cannon / NBC Bay Area
A dozen riders were stuck on top of Six Flags Discovery Kingdom's Superman Ultimate Flight roller coaster this afternoon in Vallejo, Calif., for about two hours after it stalled near the top.
Vallejo fire crews said no one needed medical attention and all 12 passengers walked away safely.
It was unclear what caused the two-car train to stop, the Vallejo Times-Herald reported. Chan said the ride will be closed for a “thorough safety inspection.” She added that the ride will reopen when the inspection is completed at a time to be determined.
“If (a ride) stops, it usually detects something and it stops for safety reasons,” Chan said.
The ride, which opened at the park on June 30, holds two cars with six riders each and reaches a maximum speed of 62 miles per hour. According to the park's website, it features a launch coaster using electromagnetic propulsion, two upside-down twists and two vertical rolls. At 15 stories high, the coaster is ranked alongside rides with the tallest inversions in the world.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Two hours is a long time to spend with your arms in the air, going "Wheeeee".
Hopefully none of them were planning on hitting the head just after one more quick ride. That could have turned out poopy.
I thought you had to me moving in order to go Wheeeeeeee! Now if the ride hadn't stopped and just kept going, that would be something to have your arms in the air and Wheeeeeee about.
That incident prompted a new joke: "Your mama is so fat she broke down the roller coaster..."
Sometimes I face my "fear of heights" and do something I normally wouldn't do. I don't make it a point to ride coasters but I might have at some point had I not seen this article. And if I'd have been stuck up there for two hours, I'll tell you exactly how it would have worked out: During the ride I'd be fine (I can handle heights, I just can't look down our out for long). The first 5 minutes sitting there, I'd probably be OK. Soon after that, I'd start acting exactly like someone with claustrophobia in a tight space. If I didn't completely flip out and made it down two hours later, I'd be stepping out swinging.
Hell with coasters. That ain't natural.
Meanwhile, Lex Luthor was below laughing at the prank he just pulled.
@ denver bill 2 - Two hours is also a long time to spend with your arms in the cabin, going "Peeeeee".
Oh whaaaa, this isn't news; I was stuck at the top of a rollercoaster for 30 minutes last Sunday and no one cried for me...given it wasn't two hours but the article isn't about 90 minutes, it's about people being stuck in a rollercoaster. And the train I was on was the last ride of the night which means we were stuck there for 30 minutes after the park closed. I can see why my predicament didn't make national news, but I fail to see why this did.
It was Final Destination 3. Each one of these people will now start dying off one by one in freak accidents.
@ Ebeneser Howard
Actually, the article is about people being stuck on a roller coaster for 2 hours...in the middle of the afternoon...in the blazing heat. There's a big difference between this and your situation. Also, this was a new ride at a popular amusement park. You failed to mention where you were when it happened to you. Also, maybe no one reported your story to the news, or at least the national news only saw 30 minutes as a local story.
So no, no one was crying for you. No one was crying for these people, either, since everyone was OK. But they were up there for 4 times longer than you were. Get over it.
That would suck. Stuck two hours in the sun on a steel coaster. Where's Aqua Man when you need him.
Ironically, the gentleman who was the voice for Aqua Man just passed away.
But, since they are on a Superman ride, then where is Superman? Oh yeah, wait, never mind....
I was on a coaster this weekend for the first time in recent memory, and after it stopped, my lap bar didn't go up until about twenty long seconds after everyone else's did. My Dad said, "Push down on it," which was impossible since it was already squashing my legs. It finally came up, and I was suddenly reminded that I really hate that about amusement park and fair rides. If that bar had for some reason gotten stuck across my legs for an extended period of time, I would have absolutely flipped out. I'm not generally claustrophobic, but extreme situations like not being able to straighten out my legs or extend my arms is just too much for me.
I'm afraid of heights, but love the coasters. However, it's the fact that you keep moving that makes it fun. If I had been up there that long w/o moving, I probably would've have lost it.
I'm scared of heights too, after about 15 mins up there, forget it, I would have climbed out and they would be scraping me up off something....
I'll bet Superman feels like a horse's patoot!
I have empathy for the people stranded, it must have been a royal PITA.
But, if nothing else, it shows the safety features built into these machines do in fact work. The machine made a determination that something was wrong and stopped, as designed. Rather that than hear of a malfunction that killed or injured people.
Good job designers, park employees and Emergency Responders!!
XD - Right on. My thoughts exactly. Now lets figure it out, correct it, and move on. Hopeful none of them think this is an opportunity to sue. The park should apologize, maybe give them some free tickets or a refund and that is it.
It is time
Where was Superman when they needed him?
@ Supreme Math; Are there still phone booths anymore?
I'm no expert, but this looks like a job for Superman.
Hopefully none of them had claustrophobia, that would be an awful feeling stuck up there for that long.
How is sitting 150 ft above ground in an open roller coaster remotely claustrophobic? Wouldn't that be more apt to occur in a closed ride?
It'd be terrible if they were acrophobic, but if that were the case, they wouldn't be on a roller coaster to begin with.
Or agoraphobic.
I have a fear of heights and let me tell you, I wouldn't have been on the ride in the first place, but if I had been.... there would have been screaming!
I cannot even imagine how hot it must have been sitting there for two hours.
Waya - don't EVER let anyone talk you into it. LOL I just posted the same thing above.
Sorry, someone else posted the same thought.
At least it wasnt the superman ride that came to my mind. You know, the tallest ride in six flags. Had they been stalled on that one, they'd have been facing straight up for 2 hours.
Unless you turn your head around, in which case oh hell, no!
"a mechanic managed to get the ride going again and riders were lowered safely to the ground"
I bet Charlie the mechanic bypassed the dang blast safety gizmo that was holding up the ride. Kind of like putting a penny behind the fuse. I hope they take out the bypass and truly find what went wrong. Glad to see that the safety errors on the side of caution and not with just a warning light indicating that a wheel just fell off.
I was thinking that also.
Don't have to put a penny behind the fuse.
It's computer controlled, made to fail OFF, and logs everything it does, or doesn't do!
The controller is smarter than the operator, and the operator is only required because the controller can't deal with people, people are to difficult to control.
Good thing it didn't stop when they were upside down.
Exactly what I was thinking! Two hours upside-down? Holy crap, Batman!
5 more feet and KABLOWEEE ....
Lol, that would cure a fear of heights....
...or *cause* it!
i knew i should of went to the restroom first!
Should OF...or should HAVE?
Face, palm.
...Should have went...or...should have GONE...
grammar nazis out in full force.
Wow, how sad. The two of you have far too much time on your hands if you can sit around correcting grammar for free. It must be very rewarding.
Is it too late to chime in on capitalization issues...?
What, no one is going to blame it on Obama. Hats off to all involved with the rescue.Great Job folks.
OK here you go ;-)
Stupid Government regulations telling roller coasters when to stop! Why does Obama care more about stopping everyones fun than allowing the coasters to roll.
Thanks for setting me straight. I knew it was his fault somehow, just couldn't put the puzzle together though. Thanks for the laugh:)
Have a great day, regulated of course.
So did Spiderman save them, or was it Batman?
Spiderman, everybody gets one.
Im willing to bet that they stood in line for more than two hours just to get on the ride... at least they will get free park passes now...
I blame global warming for the motor over heating, lol. Always a safe bet around here.
Hopefully they got free season passes for the rest of the year, i know that would work for me!
Well if no one is going to blame Obama,then I will. Why not? If you cannot find a scientific cause, then a political cause must be the answer according to some dimwits in the comments gallery.
When I was 8 years old we went to Six Flags Magic Mountain and I don't remember the name of the coaster because it's been so long but it's the one that was orange and had the 2 super loops. Anyway, we got stuck up on top of that loop for 45 minutes and it was one of the scariest moments of my entire life. I still this day have reservations about going to 6 flags again... nothing against the park I'm just talking about bad memories lol
man, all that time up there and they don't even have one of those embarrassing coaster pics to show for it!
Look! Up in the air....It's a bird.....No It's a plane....Nope it's a stuck Superman Ride.....
Able to leap tall rides with a single bound.....Faster then a speeding Old Lady from Pasadena .....More powerful then a Hulk Hogan......STUCK!
Give the guy who managed to get it to work a Nobel Peace Prize !!!!!At least he did something to earn it ! Glad no one was harmed in this attempt to scale small buildings in a single bound !
Wait, that's an Obama dig, isn't it? It IS! I KNEW somebody could find SOME WAY to make a lame-ass political statement! Woot!
That one was creative though. I like it. Still no value but good.
Slow news day. I was stuck at the top of the The Titan at SFO Texas in the late Fall a couple of years ago, and all we got was hot chocolate after they got us down. The staff said, "This happens all the time." We didn't get in the news.
Hot chocolate? Dang, you'd think they could have at least sprung for a couple tequila shots for ya!
hahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahaahha
Omg, sorry, that was funny. So... you have envy of these people and the fame and fortune they received by being stuck on a roller coaster for 2 hours? What, were you up there for 20 minutes or something? Just wanted to make this about you? <eyeroll>
Poor Texas. I think y'all git yer fair share of news stories and the glory that comes with it.
Stop the presses! No, I mean it. If Texas R ain't the subject, just stop those darn tootin' presses!
I'm sure someone will claim 'emotional distress' and sue everyone involved with anyone ever building that right. After all, this is America.
LOOK at the picture, it was just about to go into the twist, they would have been hanging sideways or downwards for 2 hours...OMG, LOL...glad it wasn't me!! I too got stuck on a ride when I was a kid at "Playland at the Beach" in San Francisco. They left us hanging semi sideways while attending to people who were hurt. SCARY!
they would have been down in 30 min if Obama was on it.
As opposed to any other President?
W/ Romney they would NEVER get off.
Ohh please.First off this is a relatively new ride that just opened this year & second,parks have contingicy plans in place when this sort of thing happens.The media tends to overhype minor incidents like this all too often because they want the ratings.....next time a malfunction happens make sure there are injuries or something to make the story worth reading?
Hey, no problem. We'll try to make sure to injure someone next time! ;-)
Wow, look everyone. You have a jerk who's just looking for people to get hurt! Keep your children and pets away. Anyone who just reads articles for body counts have some major problems in their skull. Sure hope the next article you read (scanning for injuries and fatalities) doesn't include a loved one of yours Mike.
It's great that the coaster's sensors detected a problem and stopped the ride, but my question is why it is unclear what caused the train to stop? If the ride computer detected an error large enough to stop the ride, doesn't it record the error?