Six Flags Ride That Became Stuck Mid-Air Remains Closed for Inspection

Photo credit: Sixflags.com

A ride at Great America in Gurnee that stopped mid-air over the weekend has been closed indefinitely, a spokeswoman told Fox 6.

The Sky Trek Tower ride, introduced in 1977, is a rotating aerial cabin that offers riders a view from 28.5 stories up, according to the Great America website.

An inspection will be completed on the ride before it reopens, according to the Fox 6 article.

Riders were stuck on the ride for about two hours on Sunday after the ride stopped, the Chicago Tribune reports. They were escorted down a staircase.

Severe weather on Monday prevented park officials from completing an inspection but that process was expected to get underway on Tuesday, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Passengers told NBC Chicago they had made it to the top of the nearly 300-feet high ride when it became stuck. The ride began to move down again after about an hour and then dropped about 20 feet before stopping again, according to the article.

In a statement from Great America, park officials contended that the ride never made an abrupt drop, according to NBC Chicago.

“During the manual descent, the secondary brakes engaged, causing an immediate and abrupt stop of the cabin. At no time did the ride drop at a high rate of speed,” according to the statement.

Information from Six Flags on how many passengers were on board or how high up the ride was when it became stuck was not available, the Chicago Tribune reports.