Carowinds Fury 325 Closure Highlights Gap Between Routine Inspections and Public Surveillance
A visitor’s video of a cracked support column on the Fury 325 roller coaster at Carowinds led to a six-week shutdown after routine inspections missed the flaw. Engineers found the steel column fractured along a weld line, prompting a full structural review and the installation of a new column. The incident raised questions about whether scheduled maintenance checks are sufficient to detect developing structural issues in high-speed attractions, as the defect was visible to the public before it was caught by inspectors.
Key points
- Jeremy Wagner, a park visitor, filmed a steel support column on the Fury 325 roller coaster at Carowinds in North Carolina that appeared cracked nearly through, with daylight visible through the gap as trains passed.
- The ride, a giga coaster standing 325 feet tall and reaching speeds up to 95 mph, was shut down immediately after the video circulated, despite regular maintenance walk-throughs and a February 2023 state inspection that had found only minor signage issues.
- Manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard confirmed the beam fractured along a weld line, leading engineers to inspect the entire structure, including track, supports, and foundation, rather than just repairing the single column.
- A second weld problem was discovered in late July 2023, described by the state Department of Labor as potentially a crack or break, before the ride reopened on August 10, 2023, after more than 500 full test cycles.
- North Carolina Labor Commissioner Josh Dobson estimated the crack had been developing for six to 10 days prior to the video, based on earlier photos taken by another guest, though this was not a forensic finding.
Background
This incident follows other theme park safety issues, such as the 2026 fracture on the Batman Gotham City Escape coaster in Madrid that injured a rider and halted operations, and community complaints about noise from new coasters. These events highlight ongoing scrutiny of ride safety and maintenance standards in the amusement industry.
Why it matters
The Fury 325 incident underscores the limitations of scheduled inspections in detecting structural flaws that may be visible to the public. It raises questions about the role of crowd-sourced surveillance in safety monitoring and the need for more robust detection methods in high-risk infrastructure.
What to watch
No further developments are reported in the source. The ride reopened in August 2023 after extensive testing and repairs, and no additional regulatory changes or industry-wide responses are mentioned.
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