Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/713628
ByMariaSudekum The Associated Press KANSAS CITY, MO. At least two people who rode in the last year on the same Kan- sas water- slide where a 10-year- old boy was killed say ny- lon shoulder straps came loose during the raft ride featuring a 17-storydrop. It's unclear whether the straps on "Verruckt" — Ger- man for "insane" — played any role in Sunday's death of Caleb Schwab, a Kansas lawmaker's son. Police and Schlitterbahn Waterpark have yet to explain how Ca- leb sustained a fatal neck in- jury on the 168-foot-tall ride, which the park said Tuesday would be closed for the re- mainder of the season. On the 2-year-old water- slide certified by Guinness WorldRecordsas theworld's tallest, riders sit in multi- person rafts that begin with the steep drop, followed by a surge up a second hill before a 50-foot descent to a finish- ing pool. Along the way, rid- ers clutch ropes along the in- side of the raft. Riders are harnessed in with two nylon seatbelt-like straps — one that crosses the rider's lap, the other stretching diagonally like a car shoulder seatbelt. Each strap is held in place by long Velcro-style straps, not by buckles. Ken Martin, a Richmond, Virginia-based amusement parksafetyconsultant,ques- tioned whether the straps wereappropriateforwhathe called "nothing more than a roller coaster with water." In early tests, rafts car- rying sandbags flew off the slide, prompting engineers to tear down half of the ride and reconfigure some an- gles. A promotional video about building the slide in- cludes footage of two men ridingaraftdownahalf-size testmodelandgoingslightly airborne as it crests the top of the first big hill. "Ithinktheydesignedthis ride, and they figured since stuff was flying out, we bet- ter do something to keep people from flying out," he said. "I think we have a seri- ous issue with the restraint system. Period." Although he has not seen or ridden Verruckt, Martin said a more solid restraint systemthatfitsoverthebody — similar to those used in roller coasters — may have been better. INVESTIGATION Wa te rs li de c om pl ai nt s su rf ac e a er Kansas boy dies on water slide JILLTOYOSHIBA—THEKANSASCITYSTARFILE Schlitterbahn's Verruckt speed slide/water coaster is shown in Kansas City, Kansas. Schwab By David Koenig The Associated Press DALLAS Delta Air Lines said Tuesday that some computer systems are still workingslowlymorethana dayafteranoutagecrippled the airline and led to more than 1,500 canceled flights. The system the airline uses to check in and board passengers and also dis- patch its planes is still slug- gish, said Delta's Chief Op- erating Officer Gil West. He offered Delta's most detailed explanation yet of what happened Monday to trigger the global computer outage: A critical piece of equipment failed at the air- line'sAtlantaheadquarters, causing a loss of power, and key systems and equipment did not switch over to back- ups as designed. Delta passengers en- dured hundreds more can- celed and delayed flights Tuesday as the carrier slogged through day two of its recovery from the melt- down. At midafternoon, the airline said it had can- celed about 530 flights as it moved planes and crews to "reset" its operation. More than 1,800 other Delta flights had been delayed, according to tracking ser- vice FlightStats Inc. Transportation Secre- tary Anthony Foxx's of- fice said the government was talking to Delta about technical issues surround- ing the outage, but gave no specifics. The Transportation De- partment said it made sure Delta provided information about customer refunds on its website and was re- viewingtheconsumercom- plaints that it had received. Delta's hub in Atlanta was the epicenter of prob- lem flights. Debbie Mc- Garry left Switzerland on Monday and was still stuck Tuesday at the Atlanta air- port, far from her Arizona home. Hopes of getting on a plane were raised and dashed overnight. By 3 a.m., passengers were get- ting irate. "Some of the men were yelling,"shesaid."Ithought there might be a fistfight." Tuesday'sdisruptionsfol- lowed about 1,000 cancel- ations and 2,800 delayed flights on Monday. The air- line's computer systems werebackonlineafterafew hours Monday, but the rip- ple effects lingered. "We are still operating in recoverymode,"DaveHoltz, senior vice president of op- erations, said on Tuesday. Delta extended a travel- waiver policy to help stranded passengers rear- range their travel plans. And it offered refunds and $200 in travel vouchers to people whose flights were canceled or delayed at least three hours. Delta's challenge Tues- day was to find enough seats on planes during the busy summer vacation sea- son to accommodate the tens of thousands of pas- sengers whose flights were scrubbed. Airlines in general have been packing more people in each plane, so when a major carrier has atechnol- ogy crash it's harder to find seats for the waylaid. Last month, the average Delta flight was 87 percent full. Confusion among pas- sengers Monday was com- pounded as Delta's flight- status updates crashed as well. Instead of staying home or poolside at a ho- tel until theairline could fix the mess, many passengers learned about the gridlock only after they reached the airport. They were stuck. A spokesman for the lo- cal electric company, Geor- gia Power, said the problem startedwithapieceofDelta equipment called a switch- gear, which direct flows within a power system. 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