Pitt Fall

Pitt Fall was a drop tower ride located at Kennywood amusement park in the Pittsburgh suburb of West Mifflin, Pennsylvania. The ride was the first one at Kennywood to be manufactured by Intamin. It was themed after a Pitfall trap , but spelled with two "t"'s as in an abbreviation of Pittsburgh. When it opened in 1997, it was the tallest drop tower in the world. The ride was manufactured by Intamin and is known in the industry as "Giant Drop".

Pitt Fall
Pitt Fall's yellow and black structure at night
Kennywood
Area	Lost Kennywood
Status	Removed
Opening date	1997
Closing date	2011
Replaced by	Black Widow
General statistics
Attraction type	Drop tower
Manufacturer	Intamin
Model	Giant Drop
Height	251 ft (77 m)
Drop	229 ft (70 m)
Speed	65 mph (105 km/h)
Vehicles	4
Riders per vehicle	4
Height restriction	48 in (122 cm)

In June 2007, a drop tower ride exactly like the Pitt Fall, manufactured by Intamin, known as Superman: Tower of Power at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom experienced a severe malfunction when a cable snapped and sliced off the feet of a 13-year old girl. This incident caused Pitt Fall to lose popularity despite extra inspections, and in June 2011, it was put for sale and bought in early September to an undisclosed buyer. It was replaced by Black Widow in 2012.

Rider experience

Riders took a seat and pulled down their safety harnesses. After the "all-clear" was given, the seats lifted off the ground and began to ascend to the top of the tower.

After clearing the brakes, the seats picked up speed, reaching 12 mph. They were held 229 feet in the air for several seconds, after which they were released from the couplings. That caused them to free fall nearly 150 feet at 65 mph.

The seat were stopped by magnetic brakes, then the riders released their safety harnesses and exited the ride.

Records

References

• https://web.archive.org/web/20150907000821/http://coaster-net.com/ride-gallery/25-pitt-fall-defunct/