Riders Get Stuck on 400-Foot Ferris Wheel

We'll guess that anyone going up on a 400-foot Ferris wheel isn't afraid of heights, and that would be a good thing in this case. The Orlando Eye stopped turning yesterday because of a computer malfunction, leaving 66 passengers stranded, reports the Orlando Sentinel. Fire crews prepared for a dramatic aerial rescue, but a backup generator kicked in and "slowly" brought each gondola to the platform, where passengers had to exit via a hatch at the top. It took about three hours, and everybody's safe.

"Man does it feel good to be on the ground." says passenger Makayla Bell. The Orlando Eye is promoted as the biggest observation wheel on the East Coast, reports AP, and it's owned by the same company that runs the similar London Eye in Britain. The ride will remain shut down until operators figure out what happened. (More Ferris wheel stories.)