Company involved in fair mishap has good record Two were injured; ride remains closed Wood Entertainment Co

Posted by admin on Jun 25, 2011 | 0 comments

The company that owns the ride involved in an injury accident at the San Diego County Fair this week has a clean safety record in California and the company’s home state of Texas.

Texas-based Wood Entertainment Co. owns the “Techno Power” attraction, which injured a teenage girl and a ride operator when it apparently malfunctioned Tuesday afternoon. The ride is shut down as state inspectors investigate the incident.

Techno Power has not been involved in any other accident in California, according to information provided by the state department of Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which regulates amusement park attractions.

Only one of the company’s seven attractions has been involved with an accident, which occurred two years ago. That ride passed a subsequent state inspection and the accident was attributed to “patron error,” or a mistake by the rider.

Michael Wood, who co-owns the family operation that has been in existence in some form for more than 65 years, was apologetic Friday when asked about the Del Mar incident, which he called “horrible.”

“I’m in the business of putting smiles on people’s faces, not injuries, so anytime something like this happens, it is just terrible,” Wood said. “Public safety is not a top priority, it is the only priority.”

San Diego County Fair officials were unable to comment because of fair business Friday, a spokeswoman said.

The family-owned operation has had a history of advocating for ride safety. According to the company’s website, Wood’s father, F.G. “Red” Wood, was one of the founding members of the National Association of Amusement Ride Safety Officials. An annual national ride safety award is named in his honor.

Wood Entertainment has a long history with the San Diego County Fair, which began in 1984 when the fair, then known as the Del Mar Fair, contracted with the family’s former company to inspect and maintain the midway attractions. Four years later, the family ended its inspection contract and began supplying rides to the fair, Wood said. Techno Power made its debut in 2005.

Wood Entertainment also provides rides for the Ventura County Fair and state fairs in Minnesota, Oklahoma and Texas.

The state maintains accident records only of serious injuries, deaths or those that cause damage to rides. Until Tuesday’s incident, the company’s rides have not been involved with any accidents that have required more than first aid attention at the San Diego fair, according to state records.

The other incident involving a Wood Entertainment attraction occurred at the Ventura County Fair in 2009, when a 10-year-old boy riding the “Magnum” attraction got his arm pinched between the security lever and the side of his seat. The boy was taken to first aid he received a splint and an ice pack. State inspectors two weeks later cleared the ride.

The Texas Department of Insurance requires Texas-based companies to report accidents both within and outside the state, and maintains a database of the accidents. None of Wood Entertainment’s seven attractions appear on the listing.

Techno Power is a multi-armed spinning ride with three sets of two seats at the end of each arm that also spin. The incident occurred after the ride had ended. Passengers were filing off of the ride when it suddenly started again, throwing the girl from the ride and striking the operator in the head, according to previous reports.

The girl was airlifted to Rady Children’s Hospital and was treated for unspecified injuries. The ride operator suffered a concussion and received several stitches on his forehead at a local hospital, Wood said.

Wood said the his company and the fair’s third-party ride inspection firm began to piece together the chain of events that led to the crash almost immediately after the injured ride operator and rider were stabilized. Wood contacted state regulators, which by state law is required within 24 hours of a major accident; the ride manufacturer, England-based Tivoli; and the company’s insurance carrier within minutes of the accident.

State inspectors took over the lead role in the investigation Wednesday. Wood said the ride has passed several tests, but is waiting for the state to finalize its inquiry before re-opening the ride. He expects it to resume operations prior to the end of the fair, July 4.

“We want to make sure this never happens again,” Wood said.