Drop tower



A drop tower or big drop is a type of amusement park ride incorporating a central structure or tower. Drop towers vary in height, passenger capacity, lift type, and brake type. Many are custom-made, although there are some mass-produced designs. The most widely sold drop towers have been manufactured by Intamin and S&S Sansei, however Larson International and Funtime have their own drop tower models available as well. Riders initially experience a sense of weightlessness via free fall, followed by rapid deceleration, after which a magnetic brake system brings the ride to a stop. The entire experience generally lasts less than one minute.

With most drop towers, a gondola carrying riders is lifted to the top of a large vertical structure, then released to free-fall down the tower. Magnetic brakes immediately slow the gondola as it approaches the bottom half of the tower. Some attractions have expanded on the design concept, with features such as rotating gondolas or several bounces before coming to rest. At Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, for example, Falcon's Fury takes riders to the top of a 335’ (102 m)-tall tower before an automated system slowly rotates the seats forward to face the ground, greatly enhancing the sensation of ‘falling’; the seats automatically return to their normal, forward-facing position just before the end of the ride.

Most drop towers require child riders to meet a minimum height; limits vary widely depending upon the nature of the tower, with a 30 ft tower for smaller children at least 95 cm tall, and a 120 ft tower for children at least 130 cm tall.

Drop tower designs
Mass-produced tower rides include:
 * Double shot (air-powered blast up twice)
 * Space shot (air-powered blast up)
 * Super shot (drop down ride slowed by magnetic or air-power)
 * Turbo drop (drop down ride slowed by air-power)

Other notable examples

 * Big Shot on the top of The Strat reaching 1081 ft was the highest situated drop tower ride in the world, with a drop of 160 ft to a base 921 ft above ground level
 * Space Probe located at Wonderland Sydney in Australia
 * Apocalypse at Drayton Manor
 * Detonator: Bombs Away at Thorpe Park
 * Ice Blast at Pleasure Beach Blackpool
 * AtmosFEAR at Morey's Piers, Wildwood, New Jersey
 * The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at multiple Disney parks worldwide.
 * Acrophobia at Six Flags Over Georgia
 * Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: Breakout! at Disney California Adventure Park
 * Giant Drop at Six Flags Great America

Injuries and accidents

 * On August 22, 1999, 12-year-old Joshua Smurphat fell to his death on Drop Zone: Stunt Tower (Drop Tower) at Paramount's Great America (California's Great America) after slipping from the ride's restraints, which were still locked at the end of the ride.
 * On June 21, 2007 (park operating as Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom), a 13-year-old girl from Louisville, Kentucky had both feet cut off above the ankle when one of the ride's cables snapped during operation. Following the incident, all Intamin towers were temporarily closed and the Carowinds model was found to have stretched cables.
 * On February 24, 2012, 14-year-old Gabriella Yukari Nichimura died in an accident at Hopi Hari, Vinhedo, São Paulo State, Brazil. She fell from the drop tower ride "La Tour Eiffel" suffering cranial trauma and died on the way to the hospital. Initial investigations suggested the possibility of mechanical failure in the restraint latch.
 * On the evening of January 3, 2018, 8 persons (five females and three males aged 12 to 18, including Danica Villas) were injured suffering "cervical spasms" after  Fun Drop Tower Ride at the amusement park Circle of Fun in Quezon Memorial Circle suddenly dropped.
 * On the evening of September 5, 2021, 6-year-old Wongel Estifanos died on the Haunted Mine Drop ride after being separated from her seat and falling 110 feet to her death. It has been determined that the girl was actually sitting on top of her seatbelt rather than the seatbelt being tight on her lap. A forensic pathologist identified the cause of death as blunt-force trauma. The official report by the Colorado Division of Oil and Public Safety blamed a lack of procedures and inadequate training of two ride operators to ensure that Estifanos was properly buckled in. Before the accident, the ride had had four annual safety inspections per Colorado Amusement Rides and Devices Regulations (7 CCR 1101-12) and was certified to have corrected any issues. Following the incident the park temporarily closed.  Colorado Senate Bill 03-253 allows parents to release their minor’s rights to sue for negligence.
 * On the evening of March 24, 2022, 14-year-old Tyre Sampson from Missouri fell to his death from the world's tallest drop tower ride, the Orlando FreeFall drop tower at ICON Park in Florida. The brand new attraction had been open for only three months at the time of the accident. On April 18, 2022, it was discovered that the safety sensors of two seats were intentionally modified to generate a "go" signal for larger and therefore unsafe harness-to-seat gaps, presumably to accommodate larger riders, a condition that ultimately led to Tyre's death, since he slipped through that gap toward the end of the drop when the ride slowed down. This is only one major factor among others that may have caused the tragedy, including the fact that Tyre weighed 320 pounds (144 kg) and the ride manual stipulates a weight limit of 287 pounds (130 kg). On October 6, 2022, it was announced that the Orlando Free Fall tower would be dismantled. The owner plans to have the demolition finished by the anniversary of the victim’s death.
 * On September 5, 2022, a drop tower in India failed to slow down then crashed to ground, injuring 16.