Amusement park ride breaks, strands patrons 100 feet in air

JACKSON TOWNSHIP, N.J. – An amusement ride at New Jersey’s Six Flags Great Adventure broke unexpectedly over the weekend, leaving passengers suspended 100 feet in the air on a cold night.

Kaitlyn Pitts, a Six Flags spokesperson, said Monday that the SkyScreamer shut down after its safety sensors detected an error — causing an emergency stop Sunday night. NJ.com reports 10 riders were stopped mid-air, about half-way up the 242-foot tower.

Pitts says no one was injured and the riders were returned to the ground after about nine minutes.

Six Flags’ website describes the SkyScreamer as a swing-based ride that spins at about 40 miles per hour. Pitts says the ride was back to fully operational status about 20 minutes later.

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Information from: NJ.com, http://www.nj.com