Incidents at SeaWorld parks

This is a summary of notable incidents that have taken place at various SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment-owned amusement parks, water parks or theme parks. This list is not intended to be a comprehensive list of every such event, but only those that have a significant impact on the parks or park operations, or are otherwise significantly newsworthy.

The term incidents refers to major accidents, injuries, or deaths that occur at a SeaWorld Parks facility. While these incidents were required to be reported to regulatory authorities due to where they occurred, they usually fall into one of the following categories:

1. Caused by negligence on the part of the guest. This can be refusal to follow specific ride safety instructions, or deliberate intent to break park rules.
2. The result of a guest's known or unknown health issues.
3. Negligence on the part of the park, either by ride operator or maintenance.
4. Act of God or a generic accident (e.g., slipping and falling) that is not a direct result of an action on anybody's part.

Please see the references for each listed item for specific details.

Contents 1 Aquatica 1.1 Guest altercations 2 Busch Gardens Tampa Bay 2.1 Edge of Africa 2.2 Gwazi 2.3 Kumba 2.4 Python 2.5 Rhino Rally 2.6 Skyride 3 Busch Gardens Williamsburg 3.1 Apollo's Chariot 3.2 Griffon 4 Discovery Cove 5 SeaWorld Orlando 6 References

Aquatica

• On October 4, 2010, a 68-year-old male from Manchester, England was found unresponsive on Roa's Rapids. He was taken to a local hospital but was later pronounced dead. Preliminary findings found he died of natural causes.^[1]

Guest altercations

• On June 23, 2009, a 23-year-old man from St. Cloud, Florida allegedly touched three girls inappropriately. He was arrested and charged with one count of lewd or lascivious molestation and two counts of battery.^[2] Park officials stated they would review their policies and procedures with the assistance of law enforcement officials after this incident, one of a number of similar incidents involving other water parks in the Orlando area.^[3] On August 20, 2009, the charges against the accused were dropped, with no reason given.^[4]

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay

Edge of Africa

• On May 12, 2002, a 21-year-old zoo keeper had her arm bitten off at the elbow by one of the park's lions^[5] as she was conducting a behind-the-scenes tour for her family.^[6] Park operations were not affected.^[7]

Gwazi

• On July 24, 2006, a 52-year-old man from Palm Harbor, Florida died shortly after riding the Gwazi roller coaster. After riding, he had difficulty breathing, then collapsed. Paramedics performed CPR, but the victim was pronounced dead two hours later.^[8] The medical examiner's report showed that he suffered from high blood pressure and hardening of the arteries. The ride was closed for an hour after the incident to confirm that it was functioning properly.^[9]

Kumba

• On June 10, 1995, a 13-year-old girl from Pinellas Park, Florida, died shortly after riding Kumba due to a rare heart condition she had that triggered a heart attack.^[10] Her mother sued the park and won a judgment of $500,000. The jury cited the park for failing to administer CPR in a timely manner and slowing rescue efforts. The jury also cited the mother as 30% responsible for the victim's death, thereby reducing the award amount to $350,000. Reasons given were the mother's previous drug abuse during her pregnancy, possibly contributing to the victim's health problems.^[11]

Python

• A few weeks after Python opened in 1976, a 6-foot-6, 340 pound, 39-year-old heart patient died after riding. The ride's previous tagline, "I challenged the Python and lived!", was subsequently removed.^[12]

Rhino Rally

• On June 27, 2001, a ride vehicle overturned along the course of the attraction. Multiple riders suffered minor injuries and two were taken to the hospital.^[13]

Skyride

• On July 18, 2009, a 20-year-old employee from Lake Wales, Florida, fell approximately 35 feet (11 m) from the attraction. He was verifying that the gondola door was closed as the gondola left the station, and ended up being carried about 50 feet (15 m) along the ride. None of the guests on the ride were injured, and the employee was taken to the hospital.^[14]

Busch Gardens Williamsburg

Apollo's Chariot

• On the maiden voyage of the ride Apollo's Chariot in March 1999, a stray goose flew into the face of the Italian model Fabio during the 210-foot (64 m) drop, killing the bird. Fabio survived with only a cut on his nose.^[15]

Griffon

• On August 5, 2010, a large 25 foot inflatable prop in the process of deflation was blown away by a strong wind during an oncoming storm and collided with one of Griffon's trains, sending 5 guests to a local hospital with minor injuries. The park stated that "The storm was too far to be dangerous", although some of the older rides that take longer to shut down were beginning to close. Griffon, however, stays open with lightning as close as 10 miles away.^[16]

Discovery Cove

• On January 29, 2009, a 59-year-old man from Sale, Greater Manchester, England, died in eight weeks^[17] after cutting his toe on coral while swimming with fish. The victim, a hemophiliac, was diagnosed with septic shock and organ failure, and doctors amputated both legs below the knee to stay infections. The coroner ruled the death "accidental", due to group B streptococcal septicaemia.^[18]

SeaWorld Orlando

• On July 6, 1999, a 27-year-old man was found floating naked in the pool of the killer whale named Tilikum. The man had died of hypothermia. He had visited SeaWorld the previous day, stayed after the park closed, and evaded security to enter the Orca tank. A spokesman for the sheriff's office said, "there was no obvious signs of trauma to the body. He wasn't chewed. He wasn't dismembered."^[19]

• On February 24, 2010, a 40-year-old trainer with 16 years of experience at the park died in another incident involving Tilikum. During a rubdown after the show, Tilikum pulled the trainer into the water, according to SeaWorld's head of animal training.^[20] Tilikum then proceeded to swim around the pool with her ponytail in its mouth.^[21] This was the third time since being first put on public display that Tilikum has been involved (though not clearly participated) in a human death.^[22][23] By February 27, SeaWorld Orlando whale shows resumed with trainers practicing increased caution and not joining the whales in the water.^[24] Seaworld has said these measures are temporary.^[25] SeaWorld announced they have invited experts from outside marine parks and aquariums to review SeaWorld's handling of killer whales and also Tilikum specifically.^[26] On August 23, 2010, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fined the park US$75,000 for three infractions, two of which were directly related to this incident. One related citation was designated as "willful", and was "committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health". The other related citation was a "serious" violation relating to a missing safety rail at Shamu Stadium. At the time of the fine, SeaWorld called OSHA's findings "unfounded".^[27] Later hearings revealed that SeaWorld had concealed an earlier incident when another whale, Ikaika, had bitten a trainer in 2006.^[28] During a hearing where SeaWorld continued their challenge of OSHA's findings, a former SeaWorld trainer - being presented as a SeaWorld expert - stated his opinion that the victim died as a result of a mistake she had made while near the water. The expert continued that he did not agree that Tilikum showed "aggressive behavior" during the incident.^[29]

References

Amusement park accidents Incidents at Cedar Fair parks • Disney parks (California • Florida • Tokyo • Paris) • Herschend parks • CNL Income Properties • SeaWorld parks • Six Flags parks • Universal parks • European parks • Independent parks