Incidents at Universal parks

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This is a summary of notable incidents that have taken place at various Universal-owned theme parks, amusement parks, or water parks. This list is not intended to be a comprehensive list of every such event, but only those that have a significant impact on the parks or park operations, or are otherwise significantly newsworthy.

The term incidents refers to major accidents, injuries, or deaths that occur at a Universal park. While these incidents were required to be reported to regulatory authorities due to where they occurred, they usually fall into one of the following categories:

• Caused by negligence on the part of the guest. This can be refusal to follow specific ride safety instructions, or deliberate intent to violate park rules.
• The result of a guest's known, or unknown, health issues.
• Negligence on the part of the park, either by ride operator or maintenance.
• Act of God or a generic accident (e.g. slipping and falling), that is not a direct result of an action on anybody's part.

Video Incidents at Universal parks

Universal Orlando

Universal's Islands of Adventure

Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls

• On January 1, 2011, a major fire broke out on the attraction's show building. The ride and the park's Toon Lagoon area were evacuated. No injuries were reported.

Dragon Challenge

• On July 1, 2009, an employee was walking underneath the coaster in a restricted area when he was hit by a train during a test run. The victim suffered multiple head injuries and was taken to a nearby hospital.
• On July 31, 2011, a tourist was injured when an unidentified object hit him in the eye while riding Dragon Challenge. Prior to the incident, the guest had only one good eye, therefore the incident resulted in the guest completely losing his sight. Dragon Challenge remained shut for less than 24 hours after the incident with Universal concluding that the ride was safe.
• On August 10, 2011, a rider was struck by an object while riding the attraction, injuring his face and leg. As a result of this and the aforementioned incident in which a rider lost sight in one eye, Universal officials announced that the two roller coasters would no longer operate simultaneously, pending an investigation into both incidents. In October 2011, officials suspended the dueling aspect of the ride permanently.

The Incredible Hulk

• On September 23, 2003, a 34-year-old woman from Jensen Beach, Florida suffered a heart attack from an unknown heart condition while riding The Incredible Hulk coaster and went into critical condition.
• On March 24, 2015, a technical glitch caused the ride to stop, stranding twelve riders for two and a half hours. No injuries were reported.

Universal Studios Florida

Parkwide incidents

• On September 30, 2016, at around 10:00 am local time, a "catastrophic" failure knocked out power to the entire Universal Studios Florida theme park. Park employees were able to evacuate riders from most attractions, but the Orlando Fire Department was called in to assist with some evacuations from the Men in Black: Alien Attack and Transformers attractions. Initial reports did not indicate a cause of the failure, but the adjacent Universal's Islands of Adventure park was unaffected.

Hogwarts Express

• On October 1, 2016, a 14-year-old girl was injured when an e-cigarette exploded on the ride.

• On August 17, 2017, the Hogwarts Express was evacuated midway to each station. Some passengers were stranded inside the vehicles for over an hour without ventilation.

• The incident happened again a week later, on August 24, 2017, to which Universal expressed "technical issues" were the cause for both incidents.

Horror Make Up Show

• In August 2002, a woman volunteered to participate in the Make Up show, and a photo of her was taken with a park employee dressed as a monster. She was frightened by the sudden appearance of the monster and dove off the stage, landing on the steps. She was knocked unconscious and received minor injuries.

Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit

• On August 1, 2013, an unidentified woman received minor injuries when the ride came to a sudden stop.

• On October 9, 2013, a computer glitch caused the attraction to go into "safety mode", stranding twelve riders on the first hill for two hours before being rescued.

• On July 9, 2014, technical difficulties caused ride vehicles to stop, stranding several riders sideways before being rescued. No injuries were reported.

Men in Black: Alien Attack

• On November 8, 2016, emergency crews were summoned to the attraction at around 2:30am to attend to a maintenance worker who had no pulse. The worker was found in the rafters of the attraction building. The worker was declared dead, but no cause of death was revealed, although park officials did state that the ride itself was not involved.

Revenge of the Mummy

• On September 22, 2004, a 39-year-old man from Apopka, Florida fell approximately 4 feet off the loading platform as he was attempting to step into the ride vehicle. He suffered injuries to his head and noted pain due to the fall. He was rushed to the hospital for surgery and died afterwards.

The Simpsons Ride

• On June 13, 2008, an unidentified mechanism failed, resulting in a ride vehicle and its occupants being sprayed with vegetable oil. The guests were given a change of clothes and allowed to shower at the property. No injuries were reported.

Universal CityWalk Orlando

• On April 22, 2011, a 33-year-old man from Winter Haven, Florida was found unconscious in front of the Universal Cineplex 20 theater after being tasered by an off-duty police officer due to disorderly conduct. The man was taken to a local hospital and later died.

Maps Incidents at Universal parks

Universal Studios Hollywood

Backlot fires

• Nine backlot fires have occurred at Universal's backlot throughout the park's history. For more information see Universal Studios Hollywood backlot fires.

Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem

• On April 3, 2015 at 2:15 PM, a man died by suicide near the attraction building. An employee, the man's ex-girlfriend, notified security when she saw him there. Security and a Sheriff's Deputy tracked the man to an area near the ride. The man then pulled out a small gun from his back pocket and shot himself, despite the deputy trying to persuade him not to do it. Park searchers didn't detect the gun because they, at the time, were not using metal detectors. Universal Studios has since prohibited any carry-on items on some of the attractions, though not all of them.

Universal CityWalk Hollywood

• At 1:15 am on May 12, 2014, a suspect was fatally shot by Los Angeles Police Department officers at Universal CityWalk. Officers were called to a fight in a crowd at a club. A man was seen carrying a gun outside the club who was promptly shot to death by police. Two civilians were injured while running away, but none of them from gunfire.

Transformers: The Ride 3D

• On August 5, 2013, technical difficulties caused a ride vehicle to get stuck in an elevated position, stranding eleven riders for 15.5 minutes. No injuries were reported.

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Universal Studios Japan

E.T. Adventure

• In November 2004, a 35-year-old woman from Osaka Prefecture, Japan suffered nerve damage in her right wrist, resulting in the loss of use of two of her fingers and, ultimately, losing her job. This occurred when her hand got stuck in a safety bar as an employee pulled it down to secure it. The woman sued the park and received ¥414.3 million in an out-of-court settlement.

Flying Dinosaur

• On May 1, 2018, the coaster made an emergency stop due to the detection of an anomaly by the automatic safety system. The stop left 60 passengers stranded upside-down, and it took two hours for all riders to be evacuated. No injuries were reported.

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Universal Studios Singapore

Battlestar Galactica

• On April 6, 2016, at Universal Studios Singapore riders were stuck on the Battlestar Galactica roller coaster for about 20 minutes after the roller coaster malfunctioned at around 4:15 pm.

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References

Source of the article : Wikipedia