ATLANTA -- Officials say a component failure in an electronic circuit caused the 'Great Air Racer' ride at Six Flags Over Georgia to malfunction, sending 34 people to hospitals with minor injuries.
'Engineers from both Six Flags and the (Swiss) manufacturer worked throughout the night to find the cause of the malfunction,' park spokesman John Millsaps said Monday.
'During the course of their investgation, a component failure in an electronic circuit was discovered.
'This failure has been cited as the cause of the malfunction.'
The accident on the park's newest ride happened Sunday afternoon and sent 34 people to area hospitals for treatment of minor injuries. All were released.
The ride has 12 replicas of World War I biplanes that whirl at 45 mph on cables 100 feet above the ground.
The malfunction caused cables to drop some planes out of position, causing several collisions and leaving the planes and their 64 occupants stranded high above the ground -- some at perilous angles.
It took firemen with cherry pickers 3 hours to rescue all the stranded riders.
Millsaps said the ride had been tested extensively before it went into service May 11.
'They (engineers) went through every scenario, tested all the systems,' Millsaps said. 'The ride basically checked out.'
Millsaps said the ride's manufacturer would install independent back-up systems to ensure normal ride shutdowns 'in the unlikely event of future failures of this type.'
'In addition, before the ride is reopened, manual hand cranks will be installed so individual planes can be lowered to the ground without any electric power needed,' Millsaps said.
