Six Flags Goliath seat belts coming after rider's death

Key takeaways

• Six Flags says it will add seat belts to Goliath at Six Flags Over Georgia, and to other coasters that use similar lap-bar restraints, after a rider was killed on October 12, 2026.
• CEO John Reilly announced the change on Friday, October 23. He did not say which other coasters will get belts.
• Goliath is still closed. Six Flags has given no reopening date for it or for the similar coasters it shut at other parks.
• Georgia's Office of the Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire (OCI) is leading the state investigation, with Cobb County police assisting. No cause has been announced.

Six Flags Goliath seat belts are coming: president and CEO John Reilly said on October 23, 2026, that the company will fit belts to the Georgia coaster, eleven days after a 42-year-old rider was thrown from it and killed. Goliath remains closed with no reopening date.

The announcement is the first concrete design change Six Flags has made since the incident. It does not answer the two questions most visitors are asking: when Goliath will run again, and which of the other closed coasters will get the new belts. As of Saturday, October 24, the company had not said.

What Six Flags committed to on Goliath seat belts

In the statement, Reilly said the company is "reinforcing safety precautions" at its parks and is "adding seat belts on Goliath," according to the AP. He said the same step would apply to other coasters with similar restraints but did not list them.

Reilly also said Six Flags has hired independent engineers and ride inspection specialists to review safety procedures for every ride across its parks, NBC News reported. "I know trust is earned through actions and not words," he said, according to NBC News, and he pledged that the company would keep reporting on its progress.

Six Flags has done this before. In 2013, after a rider fell from the Texas Giant at Six Flags Over Texas in July, the park reopened the coaster on September 14 that year with redesigned restraint bars, new seat belts and a test seat at the entrance so riders could check their fit before queuing, NBC DFW reported at the time. That case shows what the company has done in the past. It is not a forecast of the Goliath timeline.

Why the lap-bar restraint is under scrutiny

Goliath is a Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M) Hyper Coaster that opened at the park in Mableton, near Atlanta, on April 1, 2006. Each seat has its own lap bar and no secondary restraint. The AP describes the design as a "clamshell" restraint: a padded lap piece locked by a vertical bar between the rider's knees. B&M patented the design in 2001. Hyper coasters use it because it leaves the upper body free, which riders associate with "airtime" over the hills.

According to witnesses quoted by the AP, the rider rose out of his seat and fell back into the car before being thrown out. Four other riders, all minors, were injured, Atlanta News First reported, citing the state. Investigators have not said whether the restraint failed, was not locked properly, or whether something else happened. Witness accounts are not official findings.

Which coasters are closed and which parks are affected

Six Flags closed other coasters that share Goliath's restraint style shortly after October 12. A company spokesperson gave NBC News this list:

The AP counts the closures differently: Goliath plus eight B&M coasters at five other parks, without the California ride. The precautionary closures also reached beyond Six Flags. SeaWorld Orlando shut its B&M coaster Mako for about a week before reopening it, and La Ronde in Montreal temporarily closed its own coaster, the AP reported. WRDW, citing the AP, put the total at no fewer than 11 coasters shut in the US and Canada.

Six Flags told NBC News that more than 220 of its roller coasters were running as of Friday. It did not say which of the closed rides were still closed. Visitors with tickets for the parks above should check the park's own app or ride-status page on the day.

When will Goliath reopen?

There is no date. Six Flags has not given one, and the decision is not the company's alone. Atlanta News First reported that the ride stays out of service until the OCI finishes its investigation, and that the state will then decide when and under what conditions Goliath can operate again.

The rest of Six Flags Over Georgia reopened as scheduled on the evening of Friday, October 16, for its Fright Fest Halloween event, WRDW reported. Goliath did not run.

Status of the state and local investigation

The OCI, led by Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John F. King, is investigating the ride's mechanics and whether the park complied with regulations. "Georgia's safety laws exist for a reason, and we expect them to be followed to the letter," King said, according to Atlanta News First. Reports say investigators are expected to examine maintenance logs, restraint components, ride data and video.

Cobb County police are helping the state. WRDW reported that if no criminal charges are filed, the county will close its case once the state's investigation ends. B&M said by email that it would not comment until it had a "better understanding of what transpired," according to WRDW.

Last week the OCI released Goliath's inspection reports from 2014 to 2026, NBC News reported. They show the ride passed its annual inspections even though inspectors noted corrosion, worn drive wheels, and problems with supports and foundations in some years. The March 2026 inspection was a pass, with a note that bushings needed replacing. None of these records establishes what caused the October 12 incident, and no cause has been announced.

What it means

For visitors, the seat-belt pledge means Goliath and the similar coasters are likely to come back with an extra restraint. It does not tell them when. The state, not Six Flags, controls Goliath's restart. Belts on the other coasters will depend on engineering work the company has not yet described in detail.

For Six Flags, the timing is difficult. The combined Six Flags–Cedar Fair group is in its Halloween season, and several of the closed rides are headline coasters at its busiest parks. The company has also faced other safety scrutiny. NBC News reported that riders sued it in September, alleging brain injuries on the X2 coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain. The outcome of the Georgia investigation and the scope of the seat-belt retrofit are the next things to watch.

Sources

• PBS NewsHour / Associated Press: Six Flags says it will install seat belts on Georgia roller coaster after rider's death (Oct 24, 2026)
• NBC News: Six Flags to add seat belts to roller coaster after Georgia man's death (Oct 24, 2026)
• Atlanta News First: Ongoing investigation shows last inspection of Goliath was in March (Oct 15, 2026)
• WRDW / AP: Six Flags Over Georgia to reopen as scheduled days after roller coaster death (Oct 16, 2026)
• NBC DFW: Six Flags reopens Texas Giant ride after death (Sept 14, 2013)
• Wikipedia: Goliath (Six Flags Over Georgia), ride specifications