Investigators examining the death of a 42-year-old man who was reportedly ejected from a roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia are considering possible maintenance problems, design flaws and human error.
The Goliath ride has remained closed since Hassan Kariem died after witnesses said he was thrown from the attraction earlier this month.
John F King, Georgia’s Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner, is leading the inquiry. He said investigators would not “cut corners, rush to conclusions, or leave questions unanswered without making every effort to resolve them”.
“Our team has been on the ground working day and night to ensure that every relevant detail receives the attention it deserves,” Mr King said in a statement last week.
The park said its thoughts remained with Kariem’s family and loved ones. “Nothing is more important to Six Flags than the safety of our guests and team members,” a spokesperson said, adding that it was supporting the investigation alongside state authorities and the ride’s manufacturer.
Investigation into Georgia roller coaster death
A state inspection of Goliath in March found no violations or deficiencies, according to Mr King. The report did, however, note that staff “need to replace bushings” – components used to reduce friction and absorb shock in mechanical assemblies.
Engineers said investigators are likely to examine whether the bushings were replaced, where they were located and whether they had any connection to the fatal incident.
Troy Richardson, an engineer who has built and inspected roller coasters, said even a small defect in a bushing could affect the way mechanical components fit together. He said investigators would also want to establish whether staff followed the manufacturer’s maintenance and replacement schedule.
A person familiar with the park’s operations said the bushings identified during the March inspection were on the ride’s bogie assemblies, which connect the train to the track, rather than on its restraint system. The person said they had been replaced as recommended.
Kathryn Woodcock, editor-in-chief of the Journal of Themed Experience and Attractions Studies, said the inquiry would need to determine precisely what had gone wrong. She said it would make a difference whether two components had become disconnected or a single part had suffered a catastrophic failure.
Goliath opened at Six Flags Over Georgia in 2006. The ride can reach speeds of up to 70mph, with tracks rising to 200ft, and carries passengers in 36 seats secured by padded clamshell lap bars.
Operators are expected to check that each restraint is locked before dispatch. Experts said the possible causes of an ejection could include a mechanical malfunction, an operator failing to check or secure the restraint, or a combination of factors.
Six Flags said every ride underwent documented safety inspections before opening each day. It said its maintenance programmes were designed to meet or exceed industry safety guidelines, while operators completed classroom instruction, hands-on training and supervised experience.
Questions over ride operator training
Inspection records from Goliath dating back more than a decade show 20 violations between 2016 and 2021, which were described as being quickly resolved. No violations were recorded after that period.
Former employees have also raised questions about staffing, training and the pressure to keep the popular ride moving. Jacobi Edwards, who worked as a ride operations lead at the park for several months last spring, described the attraction as well run but said staff felt pressure because of its popularity.
“They have a clock to beat as that is the most famous ride in the park, so they do definitely feel rushed,” said Mr Edwards, who was 17 when he worked at the park. He said he put guest safety ahead of completing more ride cycles.
Harper Henderson, a former employee who began working at the park at 15, said she was promoted to trainer at 17 after six weeks as a ride operator. She said new staff could be taken through operating procedures and prepared for a test in a short period when the park was busy.
“We would just give them the test answers,” Ms Henderson said, adding that new operators could then be ready to work in “15 minutes”. She said she was uncomfortable with the process and resigned in July 2025.
“The fact that you could just skip, that was not great,” she said. “And it was because the managers really pushed to have the minimum amount of people to open every ride.”
Six Flags Over Georgia president Richard Pretlow said after the incident that team members received “extensive training to safely operate and maintain our rides”. The park spokesperson said safety was “at the heart of everything we do at Six Flags”.
Mr Richardson said ride staff needed to have the authority to stop an attraction if they believed it was unsafe, regardless of the length of the queue.
The investigation follows scrutiny of another Six Flags ride after the death of 22-year-old Christopher Hawley on the X2 roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain in California in 2022. A wrongful death case brought by his family was settled, and X2 was permanently closed in September after lawsuits alleging brain injuries to riders.
The Goliath ride at Six Flags Over Georgia remains closed while investigators work to establish what caused Kariem’s death.
