Incredibly sad news out of Six Flags Over Georgia as it’s being reported one man was killed after being ejected from Goliath, the B&M hyper coaster. Many news outlets have posted pictures of people being evacuated from the lift hill, but insiders I know said the incident was actually on the bunny hills on the return. The next train was stopped on the lift and they thus needed evacuate people there. The details I heard sound horrific though and appear to have been captured by the ride camera, but I’ll spare all the details. We have zero idea the cause of the incident at this point, but generally it’s between mechanical failure, control system failure, poor maintenance, ride operations error (either overriding a safety system or allowing someone to ride who shouldn’t) or rider behavior. Early reports are often wrong (see the Stardust Racers incident earlier this year). Initial attention has been placed on the restraint since there was an ejection. B&M has a patent on their clamshell restraint and I wanted to provide some technical information about it here.

The B&M patent basically covers the externals of the restraint, but the internal design a features a standard ratcheting technology proven over decades. The ratcheting system that locks into position one click at a time as the bar lowers and typically requires a minimum number of clicks before the control system will allow the train to dispatch. Each seat features proxy and limit switches communicating restraint status back to the station control system. B&M uses a highly redundant, multi-pawl mechanical ratcheting system with a “tooth and claw” drum ratchet. To meet strict safety redundancy codes, B&M uses multiple offset locking pawls (often operating in pairs or sets of four). These alternate allowing for “half stops” with the added benefit of being more adjustable for different body types. According to Ryan the Ride Mechanic, if a primary pawl falls exactly between teeth or fails to fully seat, a secondary backup pawl immediately drops behind it to trap the gear. This prevents a “slipped ratchet” from letting the bar release. When the train returns to the station metal tracks called platens push up against a mechanism to release it so riders can push the bars open. They are a “fail-safe” design meaning if there is a failure of the mechanism they stay closed rather than open.

A lot of people are already talking about the fact that Goliath doesn’t have seatbelts and just the single lap bar. Seatbelts were added to Behemoth and Leviathan at Canada’s Wonderland, Diamondback and Orion at Kings Island, and Thunder Striker and Fury 325 at Carowinds. However, the “clamshell” restraints are very complex with multiple redundancies so that a single point of failure shouldn’t cause them to open. According to ElToroRyan, a former Six Flags Ride operator, “most seatbelts on roller coasters are not meant to act as secondary restraints. They’re more so measuring devices to ensure riders can be safely secured by the main restraint. In the case of B&M hyper coasters, they typically feature seat sensors which fulfill the same measuring role as seatbelts.” The seatbelts really just provide a visual indication as to if the restraint can properly contain the rider. We’ve all undoubtedly seen ride ops pushing on a restraint on a larger rider trying to get a “click” or a control system green light and this potentially avoids a lot of that. We should never blame riders for their physical characteristics or for just following direction from ride operators telling them they are good to go. These restraints have to be versatile and robust as the forces they encounter are incredible. It’s amazing versatility that the same seat and restraint can handle my 55” and 75 pound 10 year old son as can also handle 6 foot tall 300 pound grown men. In a coaster like Goliath that can pull 4+ G’s (G-Force or gravitational force equivalent) a 300 pound rider could put 1,200+ pounds of force on the restraint, however I’ve heard they’re rated for up to 7,000 pounds! Making sure the restraint can safely lock and that it’s structurally sound is critical. It should be regularly inspected to assure everything stays that way too

This restraint system was introduced in 1999 on Apollo’s Chariot at Busch Gardens Williamsburg and has been a hit with riders. The open body system maximizes the floating airtime sensation and also allows for quick station operations. Although they appear like a single restraint they are designed with redundancy so no one point of failure can cause them to open. Admittedly it was always a bit weird that some versions also have seatbelts likely due to different state regulations or park operations preferences (legacy Cedar Fair versus legacy Six Flags). It’s still early so no judgement is passed here against B&M, Six Flags operations/maintenance or the rider, just looking to provide some information on the restraints themselves since they’re getting a lot of attention.