In June, the Swedish Accident Investigation Authority published its final investigative report into the Jetline roller coaster accident at the Gröna Lund amusement park that occurred in 2023. (Sweden’s National Accident Investigation Board [SHK] investigates accidents and serious incidents from a safety perspective, whether they occur on land, at sea, or in the air.)
As the global attractions industry’s trusted source for news and insight, Funworld visited Gröna Lund in Stockholm days after SHK issued their report to gain perspective and share how attractions around the world can institute changes that will prevent a similar accident.
- Read insights and benefit from context shared by park CEO Jan Eriksson below.
- Download the full 65-page report by the Swedish Accident Investigation Authority (in Swedish).
- Download an English version of the Swedish Accident Investigation Authority report.
The Accident
The Jetline roller coaster opened at Gröna Lund in 1988. The ride track stretches 800 meters long with a maximum speed of 90 km per hour. Each train features seven cars and has a capacity of 14 passengers.
On Sunday, June 25, 2023, a train carrying 11 riders came to an abrupt stop after having traveled approximately one-third of the track. At the time, Jetline had three trains in operation (with trains sitting in a storage track area).
SHK determined the accident occurred when the carrying arm (wheel suspension) at the front of the train broke. The parts of the support arm—with the wheels on either side of the train—completely detached and fell off. This led to heavy braking as the underframe of the car dropped towards the track and began hitting joints in the track structure. The heavy braking forced passengers to be thrown forward against their safety bars. As a result, three of the passengers fell out of their car, resulting in one death and one serious injury. Two of the passengers who remained seated in the train sustained serious injuries, while all others endured minor injuries.
Causes of Failure
The report listed a fracture of the support arm occurred. This failure was a result of “insufficient strength,” due to deficiencies in the welded joints and the absence of an essential part inside the pipe structure. The support arm that failed was one of five ordered by Gröna Lund and manufactured by a contractor in 2019.
SHK wrote in their investigation the accident was caused by deficiencies in the ordering, manufacturing, and lack of inspection of the new support arms. Insufficient checks did not guarantee the workmanship—both during manufacturing and before the support arms were installed on the train. Ultimately, SHK’s report concluded the work carried out at Gröna Lund did not provide adequate safety against accidents on Jetline. (The investigation also revealed shortcomings in Sweden’s rules for amusement ride equipment and weak public supervision.) SHK made safety recommendations to Gröna Lund, the Police Authority, the Swedish Government, and IAAPA.
Prevention and Best Practices
Using the example of Gröna Lund’s experiences, SHK’s investigation, and the changes implemented at the park since June 2023, CEO Jan Eriksson offered full transparency when he sat down with Funworld to provide ways operators can implement new best-practices, update processes, and better anticipate safety needs—all with the goal of preventing accidents in the future.
Fund Travel for Inspection
“To avoid similar situations, going forward, we will be a lot closer to the manufacturers and together with DEKRA, our testing partner.” Eriksson says. This includes asking representatives to review documentation and to travel to inspect the fabricating process.
“If you look at the spare parts or the work that’s been done on other rides since the accident, we’ve done quite a few on-site visits together with DEKRA,” he says. Eriksson recommends maintenance leaders include a budget for travel and send a member of their team to inspect the part-making process at a vendor’s location.
Transparency
The SHK investigation revealed that Gröna Lund’s chosen supplier—one which the park contracted with for 15 years—used a third-party supplier to complete welding work. Eriksson says this act was done without consulting his team.
“Without informing us—that was sort of the first big mistake in the manufacturing process,” he says. Using this example, he says maintenance leaders and their contractors need to maintain a continuous dialogue through the production process.
Open Communication
A culture of open communication—where questions are welcomed—is paramount. Eriksson says the third-party supplier had internal discussions that expressed uncertainties about Jetline’s manufacturing drawings, provided by Schwarzkopf, the ride’s maker in 1988.
“[Their questions] were never aired with our partner—or with us. So, it stayed within the third-party supplier … but, they made a choice—and unfortunately—they made the wrong choice,” he says.
Moving forward, Eriksson promises Gröna Lund will remain “much more in the loop in every step of the way.”
Proper Training and Certification
The SHK investigation also found that the welder who performed the work on Jetline’s carrier arms in 2019 did not have the proper experience or the needed certification.
“But they still accepted the job and never aired the uncertainties that they had, which was catastrophic,” Eriksson shares. He urges attraction leaders take time to ensure their chosen vendor has the bandwidth, skill, and proficiency to complete an order safely.
“I’d recommend having the inspectors and the engineering team on board from the beginning,” he says. This includes bringing all parties to the table for a planning meeting where a ride maintenance team can identify the critical points, needed skill sets, and what type of testing could eliminate risks.
Documentation and Research
Eriksson also stresses that attractions need to develop organized documentation for each ride—listing all maintenance, service history, mechanical updates, inspections, and controls.
“In the light of the accident, of course, we’ve looked through all of our supplier contacts, all of our spare parts handling, etc., going back a couple of years to make sure that we haven’t had a similar process somewhere else along the line,” he says, explaining to Funworld that no other ride at Gröna Lund has a parallel history to Jetline.
Conclusion
Gröna Lund made the decision to permanently shutter Jetline. The ride is scheduled to be dismantled following the 2024 season.
- This original reporting from IAAPA News first appeared in the IAAPA News Hub. For more stories and videos covering the global attractions industry and to read a digital version of Funworld magazine, click here.
