Kingda Ka

Kingda Ka is a rollercoaster in Six Flags Great Adventure, New Jersey, USA. It is the tallest rollercoaster in the world at 139 metres, and the second fastest at 128 mph.

About it
Kingda Ka was built in 2005 over an exact seven-month period. It finally opened on May 21st 2005. The ride then overtook Top Thrill Dragster in Cedar Point as the tallest and fastest rollercoaster in the world. The ride's title as the fastest rollercoaster was overtook by high-speed Formula Rossa in Ferrari World, UAE. The ride is a strata rollercoaster, whose height exceeds over 130 metres.

Incidents
The ride has a suffered a series of setbacks, although they were all minor.

On June 8th 2005, just weeks after the ride's opening, a bolt came loose on the first hill, which slowed the train's speed when it accelerated. It was later repaired with a new bolt.

Due to it's height, the first hill will occasionally get struck by lightning, which would later damage the track. This has occurred many times during thunderstorms.

On August 27th 2011, Hurricane Irene made landfall on New Jersey, and caused unspecific damage to the ride. When the hurricane passed, the ride was later checked and repaired.

Occasionally, the ride would suffer a rollback, which is when the train fails to go the correct speed to go over the first hill, causing to come back down and into the station. This is fairly common in launch coasters, and the train has magnetic brakes to prevent injury during a rollback.