[cmiles74]

Is it really possible that no licensed engineers were involved with the project, and that none of them signed off on anything significant? Based on the article, it sounds like at least one licensed engineer noticed that rafts were leaving the track.

[toast0]

Given that Kansas apparently allows water parks to self-assess the safety of their rides, and that the owner of the park doesn't care about safety, but has a construction background, it's not a surprise to me that no engineers were involved in the design.

It's not a good idea to build public buildings without the input of a structrural engineer, but it's not impossible.

[tqkxzugoaupvwqr]

Engineers were involved as consultants but their assessment was cast aside.

> What’s more, according to court documents, the investigators learned that on July 3, 2014, one week before the ride’s grand opening, an engineering firm hired by Jeff and Schooley to perform accelerometer tests on Verrückt’s rafts had issued a report suggesting that if the combined weight of the three passengers in a raft was between 400 and 550 pounds—the weight Jeff and Schooley had agreed was appropriate—there was a chance the raft would go airborne on the second hill. The ride opened anyway, with the weight range unchanged.

In the end, no expert vouched for the ride’a safety.

> Kansas City reporters began digging. They quickly learned that their state, like Texas, allows water parks to be self-inspected. (Under the headline “The making of Schlitterbahn’s Verrückt water slide: Too much, too fast?” a Kansas City Star article concluded that “the ultimate safety of [Verrückt] mostly began and ended with those inspired to build it.”)