Worker warned free fall ride was unsafe, then teen fell to his death, Florida suit says
A maintenance technician repeatedly flagged safety issues with an Orlando free fall ride that continued to operate anyway, then a 14-year-old boy fell out and died, according to a Florida lawsuit.
The worker said he refused to falsify safety logs after the incident, so he was fired, and now he’s saying his former employers violated whistleblower protection laws.
The latest lawsuit comes after a jury decided the Austrian ride manufacturer must pay the family of Tyre Sampson $310 million after he fell to his death in 2022 on one of the world’s tallest drop rides.
“Our clients promptly investigated the tragic accident that resulted in the death of Tyre Sampson,” attorneys for the ride operators said in a statement. “Upon discovering that (the former employee) adjusted the sensors that resulted in the accident, he was suspended and relieved of any further involvement or access to any rides. Upon learning of (the former employee) and other employees’ conduct, we proactively notified investigating authorities.”
In the months leading up to Sampson’s death in 2022, the technician had flagged safety issues with the 400-foot drop free fall ride to his superiors at ICON Park, according to the lawsuit filed in Orange County on March 19.
The worker said he learned the operations manager “was overriding the FreeFall ride’s safety equipment by using a replacement sensor for seats 1 and 2 to allow those seats to accommodate larger patrons over certain height and weight limits,” his attorneys wrote in the filing.
The tech reported this, but he was ignored, and the ride continued to run as usual, according to the filing.
He and a co-worker also found that a cylinder meant to hold the rider onto the seat was overheating, indicating an electrical issue that the two couldn’t fix on their own, the lawsuit says.
Some of the wiring was redone, but a technician from the manufacturer needed to reprogram the ride to solve the issues, according to the complaint.
“Nonetheless, despite knowing a ‘re-program’ was necessary, (ride operators) went ahead and continued operating the FreeFall ride, bypassed the safety issue and disregarded the safety risks this would pose to patrons,” the lawsuit said.
Then, on March 24, 2022, Tyre Sampson, a middle school football player on the honor roll, visited the amusement park on spring break, and no one mentioned any height or weight restrictions before he got on the ride and was killed, his family wrote in a lawsuit.
A report from an outside engineering firm found Sampson was placed in Seat 1, which someone had “manually loosened, adjusted and tightened to allow a restraint opening of near 7 inches,” rather than the typical 3 inches.
During a subsequent investigation, the maintenance technician said he believed his employers had manipulated the seat sensors to accommodate passengers that exceeded the weight requirements in order to turn a profit, the lawsuit says.
He said in the lawsuit his employers asked him to “back-fill blank maintenance logs” after the accident to make it seem like his team had done maintenance it hadn’t really done, according to the filing.
He said no, was placed on leave and was later fired for this reason, the lawsuit says.
“At all times, we cooperated with the investigators,” the ride operator’s attorneys said in a statement. “We worked diligently to resolve the litigation and claims with Tyre’s family as well as the administrative agencies involved. (The former employee’s) claims are in direct conflict with statements he provided following the accident, which will no doubt be demonstrated in Court.”
Sampson’s family described him as kind-hearted and caring.
“Tyre had along and prosperous life in front of him that was cut short by this tragic event,” family wrote.
This story was originally published March 20, 2025 at 5:34 PM with the headline "Worker warned free fall ride was unsafe, then teen fell to his death, Florida suit says."