Fair Warning: An I-Team 8 Investigation

CENTRAL INDIANA (WISH) - How safe are the carnival rides you or your kids may be climbing aboard at county fairs or the state fair this summer? The state of Indiana is charged with inspecting those rides, but there are few inspectors to go around.

I-Team 8 began an investigation to see what, if any, has changed since a well publicized accident in 1996.

Thirteen summers ago, a little girl was paralyzed and her grandmother was killed when a small train derailed at the Olde Indiana amusement park in Boone County. Reforms brought on by the story of little Emily Hunt forced those who inspect all kinds of amusement rides to be better trained. But we found a loophole that allows rides that are red flagged for violations to keep running anyway.

We started at the Rush County Fair where some of the same rides you'll be seeing at the Indiana State Fair were being prepped for a visit from state inspectors from the Indiana Department of Homeland Security.

Inspector Fred Whitaker knows the biggest red flags he's looking for.

"Stop switches that don't work, brakes, hydraulic systems, " lists Whitaker.

Side by side, the inspector and ride operator check things out. They look for mechanical problems, worn parts and proper ride speed. If the ride is deemed safe, an official state permit is affixed to the ride.

North American Midway Entertainment is just one of at least 70 companies licensed to operate rides in Indiana. The same week of the setup of the Rush County Fair, a smaller carnival was setting up at Saint Bernadette's Church on Indianapolis’ east side. Rides belonging to Jessop Amusements had been inspected by the state a few weeks earlier.

"Every week we're taking them apart and putting them together," said company owner Jay Jessop. "They're visually inspected top to bottom every week."

And there's continuity: the same workers setting up the rides will later operate them.

"Plus, we do a daily inspection every day before opening to double check everything," added Jessop.

Indiana only has 13 certified safety inspectors to look at every ride in the state. Plus, they must inspect 18,000 elevators each year. No matter how many times the rides move from town to town, state law says they only need to be inspected one time a year.

Anthony Majors of Indianapolis spent the evening at St. Bernadette's with his granddaughter. He believes carnival rides should be under more scrutiny.

"Well, they get moved probably 52 times a year," said Majors "It probably wouldn't hurt to have them inspected more than that."

I-Team 8 obtained inspection reports for all companies doing business in Indiana and we noticed something unusual. Rides that got a new permit still had violations listed. The amusement companies we talked to say they get time to return paperwork to the state to verify compliance. Even though state officials first told us they have to prove compliance before they run the rides.

One Jessop employee, who declined to identify himself, told us inspectors give them a certain timeframe to make fixes. Depending on the violation he said it could be 30 days or the following year.

That's why we went to the next stop for Jessop Amusements to ask why all of the rides flagged for violations were being operated. No one with the company would go on camera, but told us all the violations -- mainly cosmetic -- had been fixed. They showed us the completed paperwork they hadn't yet sent in. It means riders have to trust the fixes were made before the companies prove it to the state.

A number of rides at the Rush County Fair were operating even though the state's data showed violations for all of them. One ride, the Fireball, needed a safety belt replaced.

The company's office manager, Bob Gill, said the compliance paperwork was faxed that very morning -- one day after we asked the state about it.

"It doesn't have to be fixed until the 29th," said Gill. "We have fixed them, we fix them right away, why not? If they find something wrong, we're going to fix it."

The seats on the Fireball with the safety belt issue were not used until a replacement part arrived.

So why were all the rides allowed to run? The state's top inspector clarified the rules.

"If it's a life-threatening violation, that ride does not run," said Debra Jackson, who heads up the inspections. "And we come and do a re-inspect prior to it being operated."

And we learned Indiana inspectors also look over inspection reports from other states that travel with the rides. But a ride that injures or kills in one state could still be presented for inspection in Indiana.

It is rare for riders to get hurt. In the past five years, there have been only three reports of injuries on traveling rides in Indiana.

"Certain rides I won't let them ride like the Kamikaze," said Indianapolis mother Robin Burress. "Things that flip upside down. When it's a traveling one, I don't let them ride…But things that go like loop-to-loops or bumper cars, I feel are safe."

We asked inspector Fred Whitaker what parents should know about the rides in Indiana.

"I'd put my kids on them," Whitaker assured us. "That's how safe I think they are."

However rare the inspections are, at least Indiana does them. Six states: Alabama, Kansas, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Utah have no regulations or inspections.

When the rides belonging to North American Midway Entertainment return to Indiana for the State Fair they will all be re-inspected at the company's request. The company has been setting up State Fair midway for the better part of two decades.

Fair planners have confidence in the company.

"When you deal with so many people with the hundreds of thousands of people who come out to the State Fair, you would expect a certain number of incidents," said fair spokesman Andy Klotz. "We've just had very few over the years."

Safety experts say parents should use their gut instincts. If something doesn't look or sound right don't allow children to get on the ride. They say look for a white permit on the box where the ride operator works. It'll show the exact date the ride was last inspected. Finally, look for a bright green sticker on the ride. It provides a toll free number to call state inspectors if anyone believes a ride is being improperly operated or maintained.