ORLANDO, Fla. (WFLA) – The manual for Orlando FreeFall, the drop tower ride at ICON Park where a 14-year-old boy died last week indicates that the boy exceeded the ride’s weight restrictions.
According to documents obtained by WFLA, the operations manual lists the maximum weight for the ride being listed as less than 287 pounds.
Tyre Sampson’s father said the boy weighed more than 300 pounds.
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services says the ride was inspected in December and has been open for less than six months.
John Stine, director of sales and marketing for the Slingshot Group of Companies, the owner and operator of the ride, says there are several safety checks in place before the ride is ready to launch.
Read the ride manual below
“The ride will not operate if those checks are not greenlighted. Again, everything was functioning properly when the ride started. What we don’t know is what happened after that,” Stine told News Channel 8. “We’re just deeply saddened and shocked by what happened last night. Our hearts break for the family.”
Sampson dropped out of his seat from a 430-foot, free-fall amusement park ride that is taller than the Statue of Liberty along a busy street in the heart of Orlando’s tourist district not far from Disney World.
Sampson’s family has reportedly hired attorneys Benjamin Crump and Bob Hilliard while authorities continue to investigate the teen’s death.