A Swiss-based engineering company that designed and built the Fury 325 roller coaster at Carowinds, which sits beside the North Carolina-South Carolina border, replaced that steel support column earlier this month.
The North Carolina Department of Labor, which inspects the ride and decides whether it can operate, said in an email that it had been notified of a separate weld indication, which could be either a break or a crack. No certificate of operation has been issued nor do we have a timeline of when the certificate of operation will be issued for the Fury 325, the department's spokeswoman, Meredith Watson, said.
Carowinds said in a statement that it was conducting a full maintenance review of the ride while test runs are performed.
It is not unusual to discover slight weld signs in various locations of a steel superstructure during such reviews. It is important to note that these indications do not compromise the structural integrity or safety of the ride, the statement reads. After repair, the ride is inspected and approved before it is deemed operational. On June 30, Park staff shut down Fury 325 after a visitor pointed out the sizable crack. State Labor Commission Commissioner Josh Dobson said earlier this month that the crack had been visible for at least a week before it was shut down.
Video of the coaster, which reaches 325 feet 99 meters in height, showed a key support beam bending with the top visibly detached as cars with passengers barreled by. The Department of Parks' Elevator and Amusement Device Bureau said it has conducted its annual inspection of Fury 325 in February and found only a few signage issues, which the park quickly fixed.
inspections are ongoing by the park, the engineering firm, a third-party testing firm and the Department of Labor. Carowinds has said it's changing how it inspects rides daily, including using drone cameras to examine areas.
While the park straddles the border between the two states, North Carolina officials inspect Fury 325 because its nearby entrance is in North Carolina.