WPBN-TV that she looked up at the ride after hearing a loud bang. “It was like scraping, and then it started going faster,” she said. “And then it started like rocking a little bit back and forth." The ride’s operator switched off the power and jumped to safety, the Bystanders grabbed a guardrail attached to the ride’s main base to hold it down. Rides at the midway are inspected daily by Arnold Amusements employees, annually by the state and three times a year by a third party, the company said. A spokeswoman with the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs told the Traverse City Record-Eagle that records showed the carnival ride that malfunctioned was last inspected in 2019 and the result was satisfactory.