Repeated sensor faults halt Oktoberfest ride, BR reports

Passengers on the Predator fairground ride at Munich’s Oktoberfest were left hanging upside down for several minutes after a defective sensor triggered an emergency stop, BR reported. The incident happened on the first Oktoberfest Saturday.

The ride spins passengers upside down at a height of 16 metres and at speeds of up to 60 kilometres per hour. Some of those affected later experienced dizziness and circulatory problems.

It was not the first sensor-related incident involving the Predator. Last year, at a fair in Moers, North Rhine-Westphalia, the ride spun too quickly before its safety system brought it to a stop. Wilma Kaiser, who operates the ride with her husband Willy Kaiser, told BR that the incident was comparable to the one at Oktoberfest.

There was also an accident at the Cranger fair in Herne, where metal cladding came loose from the rotating ride and struck a man on the temple. A woman standing nearby hyperventilated, while the man was taken to hospital. The ride had to stop operating early.

Kaiser said technical problems could never be completely ruled out in complex systems. The ride is inspected and maintained every day, she said, adding that passengers at Oktoberfest had not been in danger at any point. According to Kaiser, the safety system detected an irregularity with the sensor, stopped the ride and allowed rescuers to free the passengers within minutes.

The operators do not currently intend to change the supplier of the sensors. TÜV Süd told BR that the Predator was safe. The ride has been operating at Oktoberfest since 2018 and had run without problems in Munich until the latest incident.

A separate incident at another Oktoberfest ride later claimed the life of a 52 year old employee. He had been in a restricted area of the Hangover freefall tower. Investigators are still examining that case.