The State of Florida has released a report on the findings of its investigation into the death of a 14-year-old boy in a in March.
the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) released a report today detailing the findings of an engineering firm hired by the State of Florida in the investigation into the death of a 14-year-old boy who died after falling from at Orlando on .
Credit: 10Tampa Bay
The agency is the entity responsible for accident investigations, among its many other responsibilities.
According to the report by Quest Engineering & Failure Analysis, the operator of the sensors changed on specific seats on the manually. Manual adjustments made the unsafe.
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Credit: The Orlando Sentinel
In the report, the engineering firm says manual changes made by the operator allowed those seats’ safety harnesses to open “almost twice” the normal range, according to the Department of Health’s commissioner. Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services, .
was only 14 when he boarded the on on March 24, taking place at with friends. Sampson would have weighed around 340 pounds, exceeding the maximum weight.
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Credit: Orlando Injury Law News
“These misalignments [by the operator] allowed the safety lights to come on and properly satisfy the the electronic security mechanisms that allowed the function, even if Mr. Sampson was not properly restrained in the seat,” Fried said.
The day after the tragic accident, spokesperson for owner of talked about how the works, saying the would not be operational if a harness is not locked properly.
“Our harnesses have to lock, and they have to lock, otherwise the won’t work, so that’s what we’re looking at,” Stine explained.
Commissioner held a brief press conference shortly after the engineering firm’s report was released, but did not take any questions from the press. At the conference, Fried did not say whether the the operator would face criminal charges, but she said the agency was reviewing what it called “potential penalties.”
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She did not specify whether the The operator could potentially face criminal charges in the case, but said the agency was considering “potential penalties”.
Fried said these findings were part of the initial phase of the investigation and the investigation is still ongoing.
further stated that the engineering report cites “numerous other potential contributory factors” to the tragic accident. The commissioner also said that the will remain closed indefinitely.
