Royal Adelaide Show death inquest told of 'glaring issue' with ride reporting processes

An inquest into the death of a child at the Royal Adelaide Show in 2014 has been told there was no formal obligation for event organisers to be told of previous reported problems with the ride involved in the fatal incident.

South Australia's Deputy State Coroner, Ian White, is holding an inquest into the death of eight-year-old Adelene Leong who died in hospital after she was thrown from the Airmaxx 360 ride at the Royal Adelaide Show in September 2014.

Representatives from the Royal Agricultural and Horticultural Society of SA (RAHS) yesterday gave evidence to the Inquest, which previously heard the ride was "plagued by complaints" during previous shows and fairs along the east coast.

The Inquest previously heard 22 reports of minor injuries were made in three days at the Royal Melbourne Show, and that the ride's height limit in Adelaide was 120 centimetres - 20 centimetres less than what was suggested by its manufacturers.

As reported by the ABC, during cross-examination, the RAHS Chief Executive John Rothwell said there was no formal requirement for issues about rides to be shared within the industry.

Asked whether there was a "process within the ASA (Agricultural Shows of Australia) to share information about rides as they move from show to show", Rothwell said there was not.

White suggested that was a "glaring issue" - a statement Rothwell agreed with.

Rothwell added “i's a glaring issue because whilst we focus on royal shows and country shows, there are many other events, including in South Australia, which also take in the same rides that travel the circuit”, going on to advise that serious issues were shared on an informal basis.

He added “they certainly inform chief executives if there's an issue with a carnival ride.

"If we had a ride that was not performing properly or breaking down, it would be something that you would expect to be shared.

"If a ride was having issues, we wouldn't even give it consideration."

However, Rothwell admitted that before the fatal incident in 2014, he had no information to suggest there were issues with the operators of the Airmaxx 360.

He admitted conceded he had received since that time "shines a light on the operators as possibly having had some issues".

Image: Adelene Leong was fatally flung from the Airmaxx 360 at the Royal Adelaide Show. Credit: SA Police.