[randog]

The Health and Safety executive has launched an investigation.

Closing the gate after the horse escaped.

You'd think they would have had to get the OK from some city/county office to pitch the thing, and those authorities would have had engineers scrutinize it's construction and safety....?

[Richard Kimball]

I know nothing about British inspection procedures, but here in the states, art is frequently overlooked because it doesn't easily fall into a specific category. In this case, it's not actually a building or a ride, so neither building inspectors or carnival ride inspectors would inspect it. The health department generally only inspects food servers. The fire department might, but their primary concerns would be the flammability of the structure. Fire inspectors certainly wouldn't have the background to determine if there were enough ground attachments to prevent lift off.

Finally, inspectors stay as far away from "artsy" types as possible. There's always at least one "patron of the arts" with a LOT of political clout, and artists are one of the most likely groups to run to the city council and claim oppression of their free expression.

[Jack2006]

I think they would have before. If I am not mistaken it has been all over the US too.

Even when the safety side is taken seriously, the equipment is safe and the people are professional, freak accidents still happen.