Jade Harrison was thrown from a fairground ride at 60mph and was left with life-altering injuries. The 27-year-old said she is ‘lucky to be alive’ and has vowed to never step foot on a fairground ride again
A 27-year-old woman has miraculously survived a terrifying ordeal after she was flung from a fairground attraction at 60mph.
Jade Harrison, 27, said she is “lucky to be alive” after she was ejected from the Airmaxx 360 ride when its metal safety bar malfunctioned. The early years educator, who hails from Hull, suffered a fractured jaw and experienced difficulty breathing after the harrowing event.
Before the incident, Jade was an annual visitor to the Hull Fair with her friends and had never tried this particular ride before, reports the Manchester Evening News. “I wasn’t planning on going on any rides,” she recounted. “But my friend wanted to go on the Airmaxx 360. I didn’t want to be left on my own.”
The dizzying Airmaxx 360 is known for its intense rotations and swinging carriages, reaching high speeds of 60mph. “I watched it go around and I thought no that’s alright I’ll go on that.”
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However, only 90 seconds into their whirl, Jade overheard a worrying click coming from her seat clamp. She disregarded it after her companion mentioned they’d heard the same noise. “I didn’t really panic,” she shared.
But as the carriage shifted unexpectedly, Jade’s concern grew. “I just remember thinking I don’t like that, I don’t like that,” she disclosed. And then it was too late. As soon as the ride started bouncing the bar just gave away.”
Jade was catapulted from the ride, colliding with another funfair machine mid-flight before plummeting to the ground, where she lost consciousness. “All I remember is the feeling of flipping like you do in a dream when you wake up startled,” she recounted.
“When I came to I was laid on the floor next to the ride but everyone was just around me and I was a bit confused. I kind of forgot where I was and what I was doing so it took me a minute to realise what had happened.
“Then obviously I started panicking and everyone was telling me to calm down. It felt like ages for the paramedics to get there but in reality it was only about two minutes.”
After being whisked away to Hull Royal Infirmary, doctors discovered she had a broken jaw that needed surgery and metal plates fitted. She also endured severe nerve damage in her right thigh, which is still numb, as well as internal bruising, facial wounds, and damaged teeth that were subsequently removed or repaired.
“I’m lucky to be alive,” she said. “The most painful part was my chest. I couldn’t sit up or take a deep breath. When I got home, I couldn’t get out of bed without my partner’s help.”
Jade’s hospital stay spanned four days, and she was off work for almost a year following the October 2019 incident. Her dental restoration continued into 2021, and she admits the psychological healing was just as extensive.
“I was in denial in the beginning. It was hard for me to accept that it happened to me,” she admitted. “I would constantly tell myself I’m not going to think about it, I’m not going to think about it. But by doing that I was just delaying pain.
“When I think about it deeply and I think how differently it could have gone I think I’m lucky to be alive. When I came off my ride I hit the ride next to me. They even said if I had hit that ride differently I would be dead. There was no way of surviving.
“Luckily, I hit the ride the way that I did, so I hit the carriage, rather than the floor or anything else.”
Following the ordeal, Jade received a significant five-figure compensation from Taylor’s Funfairs, the company that runs the ride, which admitted fault in the incident. The Health and Safety Executive shelved its criminal inquiry in 2023.
An examination disclosed that the safety harnesses on the Airmaxx 360 were decidedly “inadequate”. Since then, Jade hasn’t set foot in a fair again.
“I would never go on a fairground ride again,” she said. “I’ve been on the teacups with my nephew, but that’s about as far as I’ll go. Anything where my feet leave the ground isn’t happening.”
Jade battles the enduring consequences of the incident, which still looms large over her life, even six years afterwards. “It’s still a prevalent factor in my life,” she confided.
“When I look in the mirror I always notice my leg, my right thigh that is damaged. That’s quite a big insecurity to me. That’s the main thing that reminds me.”
Unable to undergo additional surgery on her injured leg since it’s deemed aesthetic, Jade faces the prospect of not getting time off work paid. She insists on stricter measures to avert such incidents in the future. I definitely think something needs to be done to stop this happening. It just doesn’t make sense.”
The Mirror has contacted Taylor’s Funfairs for comment.