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A sad day for the amusement industry indeed. I suspect he was probably of larger size and the restraint barely connected but the light turned green. We may be going back to the two click system. And sadly another death likely could have been prevented had a seat belt been in place. Everyone says the B&M design is safe, and sure it has had a great track record, but seat belts are so cheap. Either around the waist like Orion or connect to the restraint like Banshee. This may add seat belts to every coaster. I know I am not comfortable on TT2 without one and rode it once for the credit, but not again until there is this simple addition. Doesn't mean something else can't happen, but had there been a seat belt, that kid on the drop ride in Florida and this guy would likely still be here. Along with a few other deaths in the industry.

^ I'm aggravated over those who are spinning how safe coasters are compared to other things. Are coasters safer than cars? Yes. Should coasters be safer than cars? Absolutely! Riding a coaster does not & should not have human decision error come into play (just one quick example). And the seatbelt discussion is insane as well. People are trying to justify not having seatbelts due to load/ unload times. A MAN DIED PEOPLE! SMH

I’m on the side of closing all clamshell B&Ms until investigation findings come out. If the reports of the restraint returning to the station open are true that changes a lot and in itself deserves further investigation.

Seat belts alone aren’t going to save lives when the geriatric, corporate board of executives are more concerned with lining their pockets than they’re are with guest safety. This merger is starting to reveal itself as an abhorrent example of predatory capitalism that’s resulting in injury and death. Disgusting however you look at it. I’m embarrassed for the park and myself for being a member.

Apparently survey markings are already appearing at Carowinds in the rumored area outside the never used South Gate between Afterburn and Thunder Striker. While doesn't confirm anything, I think the odds that Carowinds is the one receiving this ride has sky rocketed!

Not that it’s important given this incident, but the Six Flags brand/name is dead. Time for some serious change, selling off parks, restructuring, bankruptcy, whatever. It’s over.

And I don't think folks talking about the safety record and those kind of things are not trying to marginalize the death - a death that shouldn't have happened. And if you or a loved one happens to be that 1 in xMillion stat, it sucks and no talk of a great safety record brings the person back. But outside of that, for many expressing the safety record, it is a coping mechanism. It is what will allow them to ride a coaster the next time they have the opportunity. And there are many that are traumatized that regardless of any safety record, they will never ride a coaster again, or it may take a long time. And that is ok. Everyone copes differently when a traumatic event happens.

I do agree that parks are safe but we all know numbers/ data can always be skewed to lean the way a certain group wants them to go. What is the operating runtime between a coaster & a car? Which is safer then? It's at that point human error comes into play, many coaster "accidents" are attributed to rider negligence. Isn't car driver negligence of a car the same thing? Cars/ planes/ coasters should never be compared. The differences are too drastic. What is terrible is park safety is being applauded compared to everyday things on the heels of this tragedy. It comes off as justification of a fatality.

This never should have happened. Whether it be mechanical or poor ride op training, either scenario is devastating. I realize there's an insane amount of information flying about and it's anyone's guess as to what is credible or not. But one thing is for sure-the lack of humanity towards this man is deplorable. He was a human being. A beloved teacher. A husband. A Father. A friend. A well-respected member within his community. Some of the things I've seen said about this tragedy regarding this man makes me sick. And that photo? For the love of whatever you believe in, if you see someone reposting it, REPORT IT! His loved ones are literally crying and begging people to please stop the circulation of it. The only purpose that photo should serve should be for the authorities involved that are investigating this to use for whatever purpose it may serve in their piecing together what happened that day.

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/18RF1oJbfs/ Video of witnesses shortly after accident. Most alarming comment is how they could hear the lock/ unlock of the restraints a few times and it didn't sound right but that the ride op did check it multiple times. This leads me to believe a mechanical or design issue.

Of the three parks that have been heavily rumored for AF1, I think Carowinds makes the most sense. It's the closest park to the Atlanta area, and it's in the same region as Six Flags Over Georgia. When I went to Six Flags Over Georgia back in July, I noticed that they specifically highlighted Carowinds being included with the Gold Season Pass. If they were to build AF1 in that area where the south gate is at Carowinds, it would also give the park a reason to expand their Aeronautica Landing section to include both Afterburn and AF1.

Court of public opinion has already gone off the rails. I’ve had several relatives who aren’t theme park people and have very little knowledge contacting me telling me to not let my kids ride roller coasters because they saw the news. I’ve tried to reason with them that it’s far more dangerous to drive a car than ride a roller coaster, but they’re not having it. I wonder if Goliath will be removed… and I also wonder if they’re entertaining the thought of renaming the Magic Mountain one… it’s all too early to tell but so far a lot of general public opinion is changing on rides and Six Flags. It’s not often a clear cut case for a family to sue and get a huge payout… but in this case that poor family deserves some form of justice.

And just when we thought there was a light at the end of the tunnel, it was just another train...

Watching the news this morning, witnesses from the actual train the victim was on mentioned it took a couple tries to have the restraint lock due to the clicking sound. They also mentioned they attempted to hold onto the victim but there was too much force (I also assume the "speed" to process what was happening would be milliseconds). The fear/ concern in their voices was quite apparent. I imagine there is regular PM schedule to replace the ratcheting mechanisms on the restraints. I also assume there is a specific hardness requirement for the material used & that the parts need to be purchased direct from B&M (or whoever B&M designates is an approved vendor). Too soft material & the gears will mush together. Too hard and gears become brittle and possibly snap. I'm sure the parts are traceable back to specific heat lots from material provider & whoever heat-treated (possibly even nitride after machining) & hardness tested the geared parts. The material heat lots & heat-treating process could be across hundreds of parts. Never say never but I would not expect rides with this style of restraints and/ or components to be in operation this weekend. There is a ton of data to review & check.

Not exactly. It is considered that components of a machine will fail, but that the machine can and should be designed in a way that any failure is contained or mitigated to prevent catastrophic outcomes.

Obviously (hopefully) the investigation can figure out what happened and we have to wait for that, but the part that concerns me are the alleged witness accounts so far that said the train came into the station with the clamshell completely open, like in the unload/load position. I don't know about you all, but if I leave the station with any free space between my thighs and clamshell, throughout the course of the ride, the restraint will come down one or more clicks. Based on witness accounts of where he came out, the restraint would have had at least two, if not three, opportunities for that restraint to shut down and lock into that now empty seat. If that is truly the case and the locking mechanism failed, then these rides will likely be down for an extended period. Although many thought Kingda Ka would be shut down after the TTD incident and it didn't. But if the testing in the coming days shows the restraint is working properly and shows no issues, we could see the similar models with seatbelts open by this weekend. Or maybe not. I guess the coming days will be telling.

Well, this might be the last post I make here for a while. Given my tendency to overreact to things when I hear this kind of news, I better lay low so I don’t make exaggerated statements about my coaster future or the parks’ future. However, I will say one thing that did come to mind: the threat of bankruptcy, or worse, private equity ownership for Six Flags. After X2, this is something Six Flags could ill afford. My immediate thoughts are that this is likely to happen, but the details of the incident must be made clear first. At this point, have they determined it to be a malfunction and not rider error? And if it is confirmed to be a malfunction, will Diamondback, Orion, and all others of this type remain closed until next year? Or maybe just the ones without seatbelts… But as I look to Texas for 2027, I now feel a huge wave of pessimism crashing into me. Should I be worried about those parks being indirectly affected by this? I know that Texas doesn’t have any B&M Hypers or Gigas, but the financial situation could still have an impact.

Diamondback had seatbelts added in 2014 and Orion has always had seatbelts.

I hear you and we will let the investigation play out, and I know my opinion about seatbelts isn't popular with the thoosie community LOL. But the fact remains. This dude would still be here with a seatbelt in place - either he was too big for it to connect and thus not be able to ride it or he would have stayed in the seat, likely bruised up, but still in the seat with a clamshell not locked. Again, I know unpopular opinion with the thoosies, but I do not feel my Diamondback experience is negatively affected by the addition of the seatbelt. But I know many that claim it does to their experience. I am sure to B&M one death is one too many. But how many deaths do we have to have in this industry that a seatbelt would have prevented? I get we want thrills, but at what cost? Drop Tower death in California in 1999 - seatbelt would have prevented that kid from falling out. Seatbelts were installed on existing and future Intamin drops, including ours. Texas Giant in 2013 - seatbelt likely would have prevented that woman from riding. Resulted in Diamondback getting seatbelts even though two completely different manufacturers and ride experiences. Flight Commander death in 1991 - lady likely would have stayed in with a seat belt. Drop Tower in Florida in 2022 - kid would still be here as he was too large for the ride and the seatbelt wouldn't have connected and even if he did somehow fit, he would still be here.

So let’s play theoretical for a moment and say B&M is completely innocent and it’s maintenance issues from six flag cost cutting. The seat belt being here would have kept this dude alive.

@disco2000 B&M coasters have given millions of rides on their hyper coasters without an incident like this happening. While this news is incredibly sad, we also don't know the full story as far as what actually happened that caused this situation. I think the prudent thing to do right now is allow the investigation to unfold before anyone starts jumping to rash conclusions about what did or didn't happen or what needs to happen to B&M hyper coaster restraints moving forward. I'm willing to give B&M the benefit of the doubt at this point given their track record.

I did not see any noticeable change to it over the past weekend, and honestly not convinced it will come to the ground anytime soon. I could be wrong, but condemned does not automatically mean torn down.

Watching ABC WSB 2 out of Atlanta: Current reports have the victim hitting "top" (seats) of train as it continued- thus the multiple injuries. Riders on train did witness object, originally believed to be a phone come off ride. It is now speculated it was a train part. It has also been reported the victim was "caught" on the ride cam hitting the train/ passengers. These pics are rumored to have been leaked. EDIT- pics are real & as terrible as it sounds. SFOG Goliath ride cam is near end of ride- after bunny hills. I can't imagine what anyone associated with this accident are going through. Prayers to victim & family.

Awful day for the industry. Hearing reports of a failure of this kind especially on a B&M is extremely worrying and tragic!

Hard to imagine the restraint totally failing. Curious to see what happened. Some (hearsay) reports are saying the train came back into the station with the restraint up/open. If that’s true, it’s probably more realistic to think it was never properly locked in the first place.

Down with the junkyard coaster!

Good morning, good afternoon, and goodnight Terpy, wherever you are.

Or we see a new chain formed like what we saw with Enchanted that picks up both Kings Parks, Carowinds, Fiesta Texas, Dorney, and a few other parks. OR we could see some legacy CF people step in and try to buy all the legacy CF parks back that weren't sold to Enchanted.

I doubt the Six Flags corporation is done. Maybe they re-brand as the Cedar Fair corporation and address the safety issues from there.

I agree with 99% of what you are saying. I'm just not sure you can eliminate human decision errors. You can get them down to a very low level, but I don't ever see eliminating human decision error as 100%.

Enchanted Parks appear to be thriving. Will be interesting to see what happens with the investigation. My mind automatically goes to budget cuts affecting maintenance. But that is reactionary and, frankly, biased.

Funny you mentioned airplanes. My wife is absolutely terrified of them because naturally when an accident happens its major news. So we never, ever fly anywhere. It's always drive, no matter the distance. And yeah, from what I'm seeing the corporation is doing a pretty poor job of at least attempting to do damage control with all these news outlets. I think I saw that same ranking on Facebook that you're talking about... Wasn't it provided by a law firm that specializes in amusement park lawsuits? Makes me wonder if the end game is to just eliminate theme parks all together... of course there goes their job security!

Exactly. Every ride death has been attributed to human error - either guest error, design error, ride op error, or maintenance error. The media is running rampant with articles about amusement park deaths and ranking parks based on number of deaths and the list goes on and on and on. If all that negativity is not countered with facts that people can relate to, then panic wins and people quit going to amusement parks and the industry fades away. Actually I am shocked there haven't been more posts here or elsewhere on social media pointing out the overall safety record. I think that graphic I posted is the only mention in this forum about the accident rates. I know I haven't seen many posts elsewhere about the overall industry safety record. It is no different than when an airplane crashes and people point out that airplane travel is safer than automobile travel.

People were also adamant about not wanting seat belts added to automobiles and then the requirement to use them. As it relates to roller coasters, a seatbelt would prevent someone of a larger size from riding even if the restraint clicked, and would likely keep someone within the seat in the event of an unlocking restraint. At the very least it would give that person time to perhaps grab on to something or reposition their legs. To be sure, I am not saying they would come back into the station unharmed as a restraint unlocking and only secured by a lap belt would likely result in the person being tossed around more and likely sustain internal injuries like a lacerated liver or kidney due to the seatbelt and being tossed around (one of the reasons why kids need car seats), but they would likely still be here. I don't know about you, but if my Banshee restraint unlocked during the ride, I think I stand a better chance of surviving with that seatbelt between the legs attached to the restraint restricting it from opening all the way versus no seatbelt...

This tragic accident is just insane and shaking the foundation of what we are park guests trust in - the safety system of the rides we love. There is a lot of speculation right now about the incident and about the Six Flags Chain surviving this and the X2 lawsuits right now. Prayers for the families affected by all the tragic accidents. This situation is inexcusable if the park is found to have cut corners on maintenance or improperly trained their staff. I'm just hoping the parks can pull through this and continue operating more safely even if Six Flags as we know it fails to exist after all of these catastrophic accidents

It made me ill. Just unbelievably tragic.

Yes, and like I said, I am sure he would have came back in banged and bruised up because the seatbelt isn't tight and he would have got more airtime than designed, but he would likely have remained in the seat. And likely may have been able to grab on to the clamshell and wrap legs around the support to further provide some support.

You said it in fewer words than I did! I tend to be walls of texts. Based on many experiences of people at that park, we could even add to your statement that there is a strong likelihood that the ride ops failed or insufficiently checked the restraints. Again, the seat belt would have kept him alive. But this would add some liability back to B&M for not having more robust sensors to prevent it. But sadly, even if B&M is found completely innocent, it will still cost them in the lawsuit that will likely happen.

Are we talking about the seatbelts that ride ops routinely tell guests are fine if they're loose? "If it's not tight, it's alright!"

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I really wish they would do something with the MCBR. You can't tell me there is not something that would remind people of Cincy that would not require IP to be purchased.

I fear the end of the John Reilly era may be coming sooner than we thought. I just don't see how any CEO can survive 2 major "incidents" in one season even if they aren't totally at fault for it. I also think it's becoming more likely that AF1 may just sit in a warehouse collecting dust for some time or gets sold off to another chain. Just a horrible day for the industry. This has to be up there with Black Sunday at KI in 1991. Just not good for the company trying to rebound and make their reputation better. At this point if leadership is really serious about gaining people's trust, they NEED to retire the Six Flags name completely! Yes including Over Georgia and Over Texas. Come up with new names for those 2 and drop the Six Flags name from the rest! My heart is shattered with today's news! No one should ever go to a park and fear for their life. These parks are meant to be a place to spend time with family and friends! I can't imagine the trauma that those who witnessed this incident is going through! And I can't imagine what the families of the victims are going through! Hug your loved ones tight and tell them you love them. You never know when it'll be your last!

Checking in from a very crowded park. Carousel is playing Christmas music. AE is running one train. It’s gonna be a day.

Quick review of my food and beverage experience tonight. Location 1: Kings Island Prestige Lounge Very polite associate dealing with a long line of guests trying to either scan in or get their free snack. The current specialty snack (a 5.5oz bag of caramel M&M's pop'd) is nice and lists 5 servings per bag. I would say one bag is quite enough to feed each member of a family for a snack. Location 2: Coney Bar-B-Que I ordered a 3-Sides Platter with the bowl of mac & cheese, three hush puppies, and fries as my aforementioned three sides. Without a dining plan it would have been $19.99. While I had never expected to want anything from Coney Bar-B-Que before tonight, I have to say this was quite a nice meal. I thought that the mac & cheese was really good and that the hush puppies were good. They could have used a thinner coating of breading, but I enjoyed them nonetheless. The fries were seasoned a little too well for my taste. I didn't try to put any condiments on them since I was getting full by that point. The checkout process was a little odd since there were two registers open with one associate helping the other at some points. While we were eating I even saw an associate coming around to sweep the ground and clean tables. The biggest hindrance to my night was with my drink plan that is included with my Prestige Membership. Both times I went to get a drink I was told that it was not showing up. I ended up being able to get a drink anyway (with plenty of ice) and enjoyed it with my meal. This is possibly an issue with the park's POS system not loading the included drink plan since it technically isn't an add-on. It was a little frustrating in the moment, but is definitely an issue with an easy solution. Overall this was a nice night for F&B at Kings Island. Shoutout to Chef Gibson for helping make sure that at least some ice was available in the park tonight: hopefully this is a trend that will only improve from here. I even bore witness to an ice restock in Coney Bar-B-Que as I was standing in line. Contrary to popular belief (and what people say on Facebook), some folks actually are trying to improve conditions around the park. It isn't easy to do when your parent company is still $5 billion in debt.

I am a member of this club. I've been a member since 2011.

The Kings Island & Miami Valley Railroad is only open on Saturdays and Sundays during the Fall, and I believe they close the Rivertown Station entrance between 6PM and 7PM. It's a nice little train ride on the rails with all of the dressed up hay bales and props along the route. Be aware that the park may only be running 1 train with 3-car operations depending on the day. I'd like to see a train haunt come back at some point if the Tomb Raider building is ever demolished, though it might require some more creative thinking on the path of the trail since Mystic Timbers took the old path. As for using the Polar Express IP, I think it's overused at other railroad museums and attractions. I also don't know if it's included in the current Warner Bros. IPs that Six Flags can use since they seem pretty restricted to the comics and animated versions of the DC superheroes (plus The Dark Knight character for the wild mouse coasters) and only one era of the Looney Tunes. It's part of the reason why I don't think we'll ever see Scooby-Doo back in the parks.

Six Flags Over Leveraged

Six Flags Over This Stupid Merger

When you pay for something and not getting what you paid for, that’s not minuscule stuff. One or two times out of ice or product? OK. It happens. Every day? That’s the issue. They’ve already got your money so it’s not a priority. It impacts the guest experience and plays into the decision to renew passes. Some here can turn their cheek the other way and pretend the problems don’t exist. For me, if they can’t deliver what I paid for, I stop paying for it.