After almost a year of being closed for inspection and maintenance, Busch Garden Tampa's popular drop tower ride Falcon’s Fury is now open.
The ride, which officially reopened April12, was originally closed for inspection after the tragic death of a 14-year-old on the Orlando Freefall—a similar drop tower attraction—last March.
At the time, a Busch Gardens spokesperson told the Tampa Bay Times that the ride was closed due to supply chain issues and needed parts for maintenance.
Falcon’s Fury debuted in 2014 and is a 335-foot-tall ride that plunges riders 60 mph to the ground face first at a 90-degree angle, making it one of North America’s tallest free-standing drop towers.
In 2022, Tyre Sampson, an eighth grader, visited the Orlando Freefall with his football team on March 24 and tragically died after slipping out of his seat. The ride has since been removed and Sampson's parents reached a settlement with Icon Park in a wrongful death lawsuit.
Soon after the incident, a number of amusement parks closed their drop towers including Falcon's Fury and Doctor Doom’s Fearfall at Universal Orlando's Islands of Adventure.
Earlier this year ,Busch Gardens Virginia permanently closed its Mach Tower after consideration of overall guest satisfaction.
The Tyre Sampson Act, which hopes to increase ride safety by increasing inspections and expanding signage regarding patron size requirements, is currently moving through the Florida Legislature.
