It kind of looks like it hit a barrier that caused the steel to bend and make the thing snap off in the video. I wonder if it was wear, the setup for that fair, or the overall design that caused it. I could see this becoming a spark for higher regulation of ride standards, but with the state of the news cycle these days, it could also be entirely forgotten by Tuesday. The makers of the ride are going the Hays Code approach and calling for a stop on all of their rides that are on the market until they can find the cause.

If you listen to the video you hear the clear sound of a major stress fracture right as the accident happens. Steel can snap the same as a twig. You stress it too much and "snap". Unless it's heat tempered to give it some memory (like a spring) it just breaks if pushed too far.

That's one possibility, but it happens at a point where a barrier would be, so it gives that impression. I'm not enough of a truther to call my subjective analysis of cell phone footage fact though.

I know one thing, it definitely wasn't jet fuel.

Trust the long time mechanical engineer. I've actually attended classes where we studied this ****. That ride mixes gravity, centrifugal force, and massive acceleration.

The fact that they probably run it non stop during the entire fair was the recipe for disaster. It may have survived this entire fair but it was bound to fail based on what happened.

Plus not all steel pieces are created equal. Every now and then you're going to get a bad piece.

Simple physics. Remember when Challenger blew up? Came down to a simply o-ring not working because it was too cold.

You're most likely right on this particular instance, but no. You should know by now that it takes a lot for me to find an idea convincing.

You're smart!

Not an idea. An extremely educated analysis based on the data available. FF to 3:00.

Yep!