Six Flags closes nine coasters after a Goliath death on a ride that federal law leaves to the states

Martin Lewinson's account of the restraint is what makes Monday's death hard to explain. Lewinson, a roller coaster expert and professor at Farmingdale State College, said it was difficult to imagine a mechanical malfunction on a coaster like Goliath because of its design ^[13]. The pull-down clamshell restraint uses a ratchet with multiple disks, so a second disk covers if one fails ^[14], and the operator's console shows a green light for every seat, with the train theoretically barred from leaving unless all restraints are locked ^[15]. A 42-year-old man was thrown from his seat anyway ^[1]. Either a restraint was not locked and the check missed it, or a part failed that an expert had called hard to imagine failing. Georgia officials have said little ^[2], so the sources do not settle which.

That fork decides what the closures cost. Closing nine similar coasters ^[4] takes nine rides out of service before the cause is known, and Six Flags said it acted out of an abundance of caution ^[4]. The Fortune report does not say what makes the nine similar. In our view the company closed them because it cannot yet rule out the second branch, a fault the nine share. If Georgia's review lands on one seat or one dispatch, the closures will look like an expensive precaution.

The inquiry sits in an uneven system. Rides at major parks are not regulated by the federal government, and that responsibility falls to states ^[6], where some have strict rules and others have little to no oversight ^[7]. Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts has repeatedly introduced legislation to close what he calls a "loophole" in federal law that lets US safety officials regulate mobile rides but stops the Consumer Product Safety Commission from overseeing stationary ones ^[8]. Brian Avery, a University of Florida professor and ride safety expert, agrees more federal regulation is needed ^[9]. "Who's watching those in these organizations to ensure that they are adequately trained, that they are compliant, that they are monitoring these rides to the level in which the standards have established?" Avery said ^[18].

The industry's answer is that private discipline is already heavy. Operators generally follow ASTM standards that cover design, construction and the acceleration and force a rider may take ^[11], and park operators are under pressure from insurance carriers that could face a hefty payout ^[19]. Dennis Speigel, who consults for theme parks and once served as president of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, said the industry has multiple layers of inspection ^[12]. "With the checks and balances that are put in place, theme parks are really one of the safest places to be on the planet," he said ^[20]. The trade group puts the chance of serious injury on a U.S. ride at 1 in 15.5 million rides taken ^[21], or about 6.5 in 100 million ^[22].

Earlier deaths suggest where this goes. After a 52-year-old Dallas woman slipped out of her seat on the Texas Giant at Six Flags Over Texas in 2013, Six Flags added redesigned restraint-bar pads, seat belts and a coaster seat at the ride's entrance ^[16]. In 2022 a 14-year-old Missouri boy fell from an Orlando ride when the harness did not lock properly because of his size ^[17]. We'd expect restraint and procedure changes at the parks before any federal rule, since Markey has had to introduce his bill repeatedly ^[8]. A Georgia finding of a fault common to the nine closed rides, or a second state tightening its own inspections, would change that view.