COLUMBUS, Ohio — The first ride to pass inspection at the Ohio State Fair is one of the oldest rides, the SkyGlider.
The ride, which takes fairgoers across a half-mile of the fair, received a facelift this year out of concerns of corrosion.
After 50 years of metal seating, the seats are plastic this year. More importantly, there are no hidden metal parts — that makes it easier for inspectors to spot corrosion with the naked eye.
"If we have rides that have interior parts that can't be examined, then I am going to take the initiative to shut the ride down until we can determine whether or not that corrosion is, whether that's an integral part of the ride, " said Dorothy Pelanda, Director of the Ohio Department of Agriculture.
Five months after the Fire Ball ride broke in 2017, killing one person and injuring seven others, the manufacturer of SkyGlider sent a letter to the state warning them that the ride needs to be replaced because of corrosion.
That letter wasn't discovered until this year, and the state says when it dissembled the old ride, it didn't find any corrosion.
Still, it went ahead and spent $192,000 to overhaul the ride.
According to the fair, the ride will undergo a yearly inspection, a pre-opening inspection and a daily inspection.