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A SEAT assembly of the rollercoaster at Universal Studios Singapore (USS) had detached during morning tests on March 25, forcing the attraction’s closure since then.
This was revealed in preliminary findings on the Battlestar Galactica ride, which was presented to the Public Entertainment Licensing Unit (PELU) on Friday.
The rollercoaster, a star attraction at USS, was opened to the public on March 18 together with the rest of the theme park.
Its key draw was the options riders could choose to experience it - either in a seated car (the “Human”) or a suspended car (the “Cylon”) - which each ran on parallel 'cross-twisted' tracks.
RWS said in a media release that during this standard industry ‘soft-open status’, rides, shows and other operational aspects of the park are subject to being modified and improved as needed.
On March 25, during its morning test cycle, the Battlestar Galactica experienced a component failure of a ride seat post support that resulted in the detachment of a seat assembly on the “Human” rollercoaster.
No one was on the ride and no one was injured.
The ride was immediately shut down for investigative inspection and testing, and reported to PELU as well.
Mandatory daily safety checks outside of the park’s public opening hours is part of standard procedure, said RWS.
Since then, the ride has undergone extensive inspection, testing and review by its manufacturer, Vekoma Rides as well as external third-party ride experts, Resorts World Sentosa engineers and Universal Parks & Resorts theme park ride experts.
Vekoma Rides has concluded that “higher than anticipated stress and vibration levels caused fatigue cracks to develop in a welded component on the ride’s seat-post support.”
To address this, USS and Vekoma Rides have agreed that a new machined seat-post component will replace the original welded component, eliminating the weld entirely. Additional strength-reinforcement parts will also be added.
While the fault was found only on the '”Human” coaster, extensive inspection and testing of the “Cylon” coaster indicated that additional machined and strength-reinforcement parts will also be added for maximum safety.
“It is not uncommon for theme parks to conduct some re-engineering on new rides to address mechanical issues that may not have been completely anticipated by the original computer-generated designs for the ride.” RWS said.
As to when the rollercoaster will reopen, RWS said it's a “lengthy process that will begin only after a final engineering solution has been manufactured and installed.”
An extensive ride cycle testing and inspection will commence in September, followed by a re-certification by the appropriate local agencies, but any reopening dates remain “purely speculative”.
“Employee and guest safety is our top priority and will not be compromised,” RWS said.
