NYS records show Adventureland had 65 safety violations since 2023

State inspectors have documented 65 safety violations for rides at Adventureland since 2023, including broken or missing straps, lap bars in need of replacement and inoperable locking sensors, data reviewed by Newsday shows.

The inspection records, which were examined after the park’s newest thrill ride malfunctioned earlier this month, stranding 16 passengers, all but one of them children, in the air for up to three hours, shows state officials have documented more violations in recent inspections than they did several years ago. 

Amusement parks and traveling fairs outside of New York City are subject to unannounced and annual inspections by the state Labor Department, which can issue violations for everything from missing signage to safety-critical mechanical problems. Only devices that are deemed safe are allowed to operate, officials said.

The June 19 malfunction of the Wave Twister ride does not appear connected to prior park inspection violations. The ride had passed an inspection before the park opened for the season and the cause of the malfunction remains under investigation.

Violations on the rise

Safety inspectors made three visits to the East Farmingdale amusement park between March 20 and April 1 last year, documenting 24 generally minor violations on 15 rides, including four on the Venetian Carousel and three for the Wave Swing, according to records obtained by Newsday through the Freedom of Information Law.

Meanwhile, during an inspection last March 20 — the same day the park opened for the season and one of two inspections conducted this year — 19 violations were documented on 11 rides, records on the state Labor Department's site shows.

In comparison, Rye Playland in Westchester, which has 30 rides to Adventureland's 29 rides, accrued 11 violations on nine rides across four inspections thus far this year, state records show. 

In a statement, Mark L. Smith, an Adventureland spokesman, did not dispute the 65 violations but said the park has "adhered to the highest standards for safe operations" for the past 60 years and that its technicians receive regular training throughout the season to stay updated on the industry's safety practices and procedures.

Park personnel, he said, conduct daily inspections of all rides and Adventureland is subject to unannounced random inspections both by the Labor Department and by the park's insurance carrier throughout the season.

"Any matters raised in annual New York State inspections are corrected in a timely fashion and before the start of the season," Smith said in a written statement. "Anytime safety equipment on a ride appears questionable that seat or car is flagged and not used until the situation is corrected."

Among the problems discovered during 2026 inspections at Adventureland, records show, was an issue with the locking mechanism sensor on the mini pirate ship to ensure the ride does not operate while the door is open.

Inspectors also directed the park not to load passengers on the Family Freefall Tower (now known as the Lighthouse Drop Tower) until a frayed seat belt was replaced while also citing Adventureland for three violations on its Ferris Wheel. They included a door latch that needed to be replaced or repaired; a seat belt that required installation; and a spring lock mechanism requiring repair, records show.

All of the violations, records stipulate, were corrected and each of the park's rides passed inspection during a subsequent visit.

While the Wave Twister did not have any violations during the park's most recent inspection, its status is now listed as "failed" on the department's website.

In 2024, state inspectors found a dozen safety violations on 11 Adventureland rides while in 2023 they found 10 violations on nine rides, records show.

A Labor Department spokesman said the number of ride safety-related violations issued at Adventureland in the last three-plus years is not unusually high compared with the statewide average.

Violations, but no fines

Adventureland has averaged almost six violations across its 11 inspection since 2023, a review of state data shows.

In comparison, Splish Splash in Riverhead, which has only 13 rides — less than half that of  Adventureland — averaged just over four violations across its eight inspections during that same time period, records show. The water park's inspection data for 2025 was not included in documents from a Freedom of Information Law request that Newsday received from the state. 

While many of the violations identified by inspectors at Adventureland appeared minor, such as ordering the replacement of a missing number on a Music Express car or signage that was lacking on the Rescue Boats ride. Other violations are more serious.

For example, on April 30, 2023, inspectors documented missing nuts and bolts on the platform to a roller coaster and two years later the bumpers on three cars of the bumper car ride were ordered to be replaced because they were too worn, records show.

In 2024, inspectors ordered Adventureland to replace a broken seat belt on the Sports Tower, which hoists passengers 60 feet in the air, and the following year they directed staff to fix the air hose for the release valve for the Frisbee, a popular ride that swings and twirls passengers at a high rate of speed, documents show.

Labor Department spokeswoman Christine Buttigieg said operators such as Adventureland must fix identified violations before the rides are allowed back into service.

But the violations themselves, she said, do not immediately trigger a financial penalty.

"There’s no mechanism in the law to issue fines or penalties for amusement device violations unless an operator has been using one without a permit," Buttigieg said. "We are not aware of any such circumstance here."

'I'm nervous'

On June 19, the Wave Twister, which debuted in April after being delayed for a year, broke down with 16 passengers on board, their feet dangling in the air. 

Firefighters, who arrived on the scene about 8 p.m., used a cherry picker and ladder trucks to reach two circular cars about 50 feet in the air, unbuckling and bringing down each passenger.

The last child was rescued shortly after 10:30 p.m., more than three hours after the ride stopped. 

It was the first time in the park's history where riders had to be evacuated by the fire department, Smith said.

Adventureland promoted the ride as a first-of-its-kind experience designed to simulate the "exhilarating sensation of gliding atop massive ocean waves." Ten riders sit in each of two circular cars as the cars ride along a nearly 280-foot track.

"The June 19 Wave Twister stoppage — which did not result in any injuries — was a controlled stop triggered when there was a loss of a safety signal," Smith said. "These types of controlled stops are not uncommon at amusement parks across the world on a weekly basis."

The Wave Twister, which has been shut down since the malfunction, was manufactured by Ride Engineers Switzerland and brought from Europe via container ship earlier this year, Newsday previously reported.

Danielle Paniccia, of Ronkonkoma, whose 12-year-old son Pietro and 11-year-old daughter Lena were among the youths stuck on the ride, said she's a frequent visitor to Adventureland.

But after the recent incident, and additional reports that the Wave Twister broke down four days earlier, temporarily leaving students and teachers from a Farmingdale middle school stuck in the air, Paniccia is reconsidering whether she will return any time soon.

"I've never been scared before," Paniccia said of Adventureland rides. "Now I'm kind of nervous. I do want my kids to go back because they love it and I don't want them to be scared. But now I'm nervous."

The Labor Department said it's investigating the incident and declined additional comment.

Paniccia, meanwhile, said she's disappointed with Adventureland's lack of communication and emotional support in the aftermath of the incident. To date, park staff have yet to apologize to the family although they offered them 10 free tickets.

"At a local family park like this, I would have expected them to be a little more compassionate," she said. "Getting tickets isn't ever what I cared about."

Previous safety concerns

The recent ride malfunction is not the first time questions have been raised about the safety of Adventureland rides.

In 2005, two people died in separate incidents at Adventureland in a three-day span.

In the first incident, on Aug. 30, Stephen Gary, 18, an Adventureland ride operator accidentally slipped onto the tracks over an elevated track and was fatally struck by the train of a roller coaster, according to a summary report by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The accident occurred 15 minutes before the park was to close.

"After being struck, he was face-down on the tracks with the first car of the Lady Bug Coaster stopped over his back," the report states. "He had been left dangling two feet off the ground, with his upper torso pinned under the car."

The park, records show, paid an $1,875 fine for the incident.

Three days later, a 45-year-old woman who was part of a group from a home for mentally disabled adults was thrown from a ride called TopScan, according to Newsday archives.

Barbara Brady, who resided at the Central Manor Home for Adults, was thrown over a 20-foot wall on the northern edge of the park when her safety harness gave way midride and she landed on the windshield of a car in an adjacent parking lot, Newsday reported at the time.

Newsday could not find any record of lawsuits filed in either incident.

Since 2014, more than 30 lawsuits have been filed against the park. Most involved slip-and-fall claims rather than ride failures.

There have, however, been a handful of alleged ride-related injuries.

They include a $45,000 payment made to a Hempstead family after a young parkgoer suffered a deep gash to the inside of his right thigh from a sharp piece of metal protruding from the stirrup on the Carousel ride and $10,000 paid to a Merrick family after the Frisbee ride malfunctioned, causing a piece of metal to bend a child's "right index finger in an unnatural way, causing it to fracture," court records show.

Newsday's John Asbury contributed to this story.