Perilous Plunge is a Shoot-the-Chutes

Shoot-the-Chutes

Shoot-the-Chutes is an amusement ride consisting of a flat-bottomed boat that slides down a ramp or inside a flume into a lagoon. Unlike a log flume, a Shoot-the-Chutes generally has larger boats and one single drop....

 style attraction located at Knott's Berry Farm

Knott's Berry Farm

Knott's Berry Farm is a theme park in Buena Park, California, now owned by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, and a line of jams, jellies, preserves, and other specialty food, now part of The J. M. Smucker Company based in Placentia, California....

 in Buena Park

Buena Park, California

Buena Park is a city in northwestern Orange County, California. As of Census 2010 the population was 80,530. The city is adjacent to the city of Anaheim and is 12 miles northwest of downtown Santa Ana. The Current OMB metropolitan designation for Buena Park and the Orange County Area is "Santa...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

.

Overview

The attraction is based on the pleasure piers of the past along Southern California's famed beaches such as Huntington Beach. 24-passenger boats are towed to a height of 121 feet (36.9 m) where a brief U-turn is taken before a world record 115 feet (35.1 m) water chute into a 650,000-gallon "splashdown" lagoon.

Accidents

On the evening of September 21, 2001 at a private event at the park, 40-year old Lori Sue Mason-Larez was thrown from Perilous Plunge when the boat began its descent down the steep water chute. She was treated at the scene and rushed to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead. The cause of death was multiple blunt force trauma. Investigators report that her extreme body size (58 inch waist) and weight (262 pounds) contributed to her fall from the attraction. Perilous Plunge was designed to safely accommodate riders with an average weight of 175 pounds and with a waist measurement of 50 inches (1,270 mm), at most.

Records

Perilous Plunge made its debut as the tallest and steepest water-based amusement park attraction in the world. Its drop is 115 feet (35.1 m). It was the first water-based amusement park ride in the world to utilize an adjustable electromagnetic braking system to control the volume of the splash.

Changes

Eventually throughout the ride's life, the boats were retrofitted with four-point harnesses. After a period of time, Knott's received two new boats with OTSRs ("Over-The-Shoulder Restraints", or "horse collar" restraints). These new boats were drastically different in design and thus created a much smaller splash than the first set of boats. In addition, newer designs caused problems with the lift chain. Stress fractures appeared in the lift chain shortly after the arrival of the new boats. The ride was shut down, and a new chain was ordered. This time, the lift chain snapped (though the anti-rollback device prevented the boat from reversing down the lift hill). Finally, the problem was diagnosed and a new chain was ordered. As of August, 2007, the ride has been operating normally.