Six Flags can't seem to catch a break when it comes to roller coaster safety. Just days after a man fell to his death at its Georgia theme park, another major attraction has been taken out of service—this time after a piece of a roller coaster broke loose and landed in an area where guests could have been standing.
According to Fox 8, the latest scare happened at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, where Millennium Force was shut down after a metal bracket detached from one of its ride vehicles. The park confirmed that the component landed in a guest area, although nobody was struck or injured. The coaster will remain closed until park officials and state inspectors clear it to reopen.
Millennium Force is a 310-foot-tall coaster that reaches 93 mph and has been one of Cedar Point's signature rides since it opened in 2000, when it claimed the title of the world's tallest roller coaster. Its shutdown comes during HalloWeekends, one of the park's major seasonal events.
“A small bracket became dislodged from a ride vehicle,” a Cedar Point spokesperson confirmed, adding that no injuries were reported.
“The safety of our guests and team members is our highest priority,” the spokesperson continued.
Cedar Point has also dealt with detached coaster components before. In 2021, a metal bracket from Top Thrill Dragster seriously injured a woman waiting in line.
More recently, another component reportedly came loose from Magnum XL-200 in June 2026.
The timing of this latest incident puts Six Flags back in an uncomfortable position after a series of mishaps involving some of its most recognizable attractions.
On October 12, 42-year-old Atlanta educator Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem died after falling from the Goliath roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia. Witnesses described a horrifying scene in which Kariem struck parts of the coaster and reportedly collided with other passengers before landing on the roof of a nearby haunted house attraction.
Four additional injuries were initially reported. Authorities have not determined what caused Kariem to fall, and they have not established any mechanical malfunction or operator error.
And Georgia wasn't the company's first major coaster controversy this year.
In September, Six Flags permanently retired X2 at Magic Mountain after two women suffered brain hemorrhages six days apart in July. Both required emergency brain surgery, while a CNN investigation uncovered more than a dozen reported serious injuries and hospitalizations associated with the attraction over two decades, including two deaths.
Six Flags maintained that X2 repeatedly passed safety inspections but ultimately decided to close it permanently.
“Ride safety is a cornerstone of our business, and when we see guest confidence affected, we take it seriously,” Magic Mountain president Brian Oerding said when announcing the decision.
