No inspection report for the Steel Curtain roller coaster was filed with the state this year before Kennywood Park announced it was closing the popular ride for the 2024 season.
The last inspection reports the state received from Kennywood about the Steel Curtain were from April, May and June of last year, said Ashley Fehr, spokeswoman for the Department of Agriculture.
The Department of Agriculture’s Division of Amusement Rides and Attractions is charged with registering more than 10,000 individual amusement rides and attractions annually, according to the department website.
Owners are required to submit inspection affidavits for rides before operation and again every 30 days or every time it’s set up at a new location.
The latest reports offer no details about specific safety or inspection information about the Steel Curtain, Fehr said. State law does not require such details, she said.
While Fehr directed specific questions about why there wouldn’t have been inspection reports after June of 2023 to Kennywood, she said, “No inspection on file indicates the ride was not operating.”
Kennywood officials declined to provide the most recent inspection date on the Steel Curtain when asked by TribLive last week. Officials did not return messages seeking further comment Monday.
Kennywood announced the coaster’s closure on social media on April 17, just days before opening the park for the season on April 20.
Park officials have not commented on the reason for the closure other than to say the ride will require an “extensive modification project to increase ride longevity and reliability.
Kennywood has used private, certified ride inspectors to inspect the Steel Curtain, Fehr said. Those inspectors used the Department of Agriculture’s web-based platform to submit their inspection reports, she said.
Fehr confirmed Monday that no safety inspections have been conducted on the Steel Curtain this year.
She referred further questions about inspections to Kennywood and said that there is no requirement to notify the Department of Agriculture if or when a ride is not in operation.
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The Steel Curtain has been one of Kennywood’s flagship attractions since it opened in 2019, offering riders a two-minute high-speed adventure with nine inversions and maximum speeds of up to 75 mph. However, it has been plagued by closures since opening, including being shuttered at least three times in the first month of operation.
The latest closing has sparked criticism and disappointment from parkgoers.
A class-action lawsuit filed by a New Kensington man on April 22 alleges that Kennywood and its parent company enticed him to buy season passes with ads featuring the Steel Curtain and other park attractions. The lawsuit claims Kennywood knew beforehand that it would have to close the coaster for the 2024 season but opted to not disclose that information to prevent losing customers.
Joyce Hanz is a native of Charleston, S.C. and is a features reporter covering the Pittsburgh region. She majored in media arts and graduated from the University of South Carolina. She can be reached at jhanz@triblive.com