13-Year-Old Plummets From Popular Ride After Seat Belt Fails, Update Given
Injuries at theme parks are tracked closely by regulators and often scrutinized by the public, particularly when they involve minors or mechanical failure. Though millions of guests pass through gates safely each year, when something goes wrong, it tends to ripple far beyond the park itself.
Regulatory bodies such as the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services release quarterly reports on incidents tied to major parks, offering transparency into the types of medical issues that arise. Many involve pre-existing health conditions. Others are more difficult to explain.
At Universal Orlando, a series of health-related emergencies were reported in the first quarter of 2025 on Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure. Cases ranged from seizures to chest pains. At SeaWorld and Disney parks, additional incidents were logged, including fainting spells, falls, and abdominal pain.
Now, another case is under review following a reported seat belt malfunction on a thrill ride that left a teenage boy hospitalized with multiple fractures.
Teen Falls from Pendulum Ride After Apparent Safety Failure
The incident occurred at Jatim Park, a theme park located in Batu, Indonesia, that’s also known as Jawa Timur Park.
Seorang Pelajar 13Th terluka parah setelah terlempar dari wahana Pendulum 360⁰, diduga karena sabuk pengaman tidak berfungsi dengan baik, korban mengalami patah tulang dan dilarikan ke RS (16/4/2025)
📍Jatim Park I, Batu pic.twitter.com/QHf2F925ug— Miss Tweet | (@Heraloebss) April 17, 2025
The teenager was riding an attraction called Pendulum 360, a looping pendulum ride that flips passengers entirely upside-down. According to police, the ride had just completed a full rotation and was descending when the teen began slipping from his seat.
He briefly held onto a bar before falling approximately 1.5 to 2 meters to the ground. He was later found to have suffered two fractures in his right hand and one in his right leg.
“Before being operated, the officer had also checked the seat belts, which were declared to be working properly,” said AKP Rudi Kuswoyo, head of the Batu Police Criminal Investigation Unit. He added that routine safety checks had been performed earlier that day.
The ride has since been shut down as investigators examine what may have gone wrong.
As of mid-April, the investigation in Indonesia remains active. The teenager’s condition is stable, and he is continuing to recover.
Whether the issue stemmed from an unnoticed fault, a procedural error, or a rare mechanical failure, the outcome has again underscored the need for rigorous safety checks—and for swift responses when systems fall short.
