On April 24, 1965, at a carnival in a suburban Taylor Township shopping center parking lot, five children were riding in the “Flying Comet,” a mechanical “maypole” whose arms and attached buckets whirled in circles 10 to 12 feet above ground.
Suddenly, the arm holding the bucket collapsed and the children were dragged around the center pole until the operator shut off the motor. Two kids died and three were critically injured in the tragedy, which prompted the Legislature to enact a safety-inspection law for such rides.
Source: Mich-Again’s Day