This is a summary of notable incidents at the amusement parks and water parks that are operated by Six Flags Entertainment Corporation. In some cases, these incidents occurred while the park was under different management or ownership, such as legacy Cedar Fair parks.
This list is not intended to be a comprehensive list of every such event, but only those that have a significant impact on the parks or park operations, or are otherwise significantly noteworthy. The term incidents refers to major accidents, injuries, or deaths that occur at a park. While these incidents were required to be reported to regulatory authorities due to where they occurred, they usually fall into one of the following categories: Caused by negligence on the part of the guest. This can be a refusal to follow specific ride safety instructions or deliberate intent to violate park rules. The result of a guest's known, or unknown, health issues. Negligence on the part of the park, either by ride operator or maintenance safety instructions, or deliberate intent to violate park rules. Natural disaster or a generic accident (e.g., lightning strike, slipping and falling), that is not a direct result of an action on anybody's part.
California's Great America
Breakers Bay On July 12, 2007, a 4-year-old boy drowned in a deep area of the wave pool (then called Great Barrier Reef). Lifeguards and emergency medical technicians tried to resuscitate him, but he was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
Demon On August 12, 1976, a roller coaster train on Turn of the Century (later renamed Demon) stopped automatically on the track using its braking system after a wheel assembly guide broke loose and fell to the ground. The event occurred seconds after exiting the ride's double corkscrew element, and the coaster, which was in its inaugural year, had experienced the problem twice in 9 days. None of its 24 passengers on board at the time were injured.
Drop Tower On August 22, 1999, a 12-year-old boy fell from the Drop Tower and died. His family claimed the shoulder harnesses were not locked properly. An investigation was inconclusive and no charges were filed.
Flight Deck On September 7, 1998, a 25-year-old man was struck by the dangling leg of a 28-year-old woman riding Flight Deck. It is alleged that the man, who was a native Spanish speaker, had difficulty understanding the park's English-language warning signs, and he entered the ride's restricted area to retrieve his hat. He was pronounced dead an hour later at Valley Medical Center. The woman riding suffered a broken leg. On June 12, 2015, a maintenance worker was critically injured after being struck in the head by a moving train on Flight Deck. A passenger sustained serious hand and leg injuries in the incident.
Halloween Haunt On October 28, 2017, police reported that there were multiple witnesses where 20 teenage boys were assaulting and robbing park visitors. One person was arrested while others suffered minor injuries and some were taken to the hospital. On October 26, 2019, a group of teenagers sparked some firecrackers in the front gate causing guests to scramble, thinking it was a shooting. It was later determined to be due to a robbery. Concession stands within the park were also robbed by fleeing guests.
Independence Day On July 4, 2019, police were called near the entrance of the park where a woman was shot during the evening of the fireworks show. The victim was struck on the arm by a handgun. She did not suffer any serious injuries and was also treated at the scene. It was ruled as an altercation between two family groups.
Invertigo On August 10, 2009, 24 passengers on Invertigo were stuck on the ride up its lift hill after it malfunctioned. It took firefighters more than four hours to safely evacuate passengers down the staircase. No injuries were reported.
Logger's Run On July 4, 1989, two boys intentionally jumped out of the ride. One 9-year-old died and the other fell safely onto an emergency platform.
Rip Roaring Rapids In 1996, six people were injured when a raft on the Rip Roaring Rapids overturned. In 2005, a female park patron suffered broken ribs in an impact with the side of a seat after the raft came to a sudden stop.
Rue Le Dodge In 2005, a woman fractured her wrist while riding the bumper car ride with her son. Her lawsuit against the park was eventually lost in an appeal to the California Supreme Court, which ruled 6-1 in favor of California's Great America, stating that guests assume "an assumption of risk" when riding, similar to a sport activity.
Whizzer On March 29, 1980, a 13-year-old boy riding Whizzer was killed and eight other passengers were injured when two trains collided. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission charged the park with not reporting a possible defect in the ride's braking system. Marriott Corporation settled the civil penalty action brought by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission with a US$70,000 payment (). The Commission found that eleven other incidents happened on the ride between 1976 and 1979, resulting in an unknown number of injuries.
Yankee Clipper In 1991, two couples sustained injuries after their boat hydroplaned and capsized, temporarily trapping them under the overturned boat. A bump was later added to the bottom of Yankee Clipper's splashdown to prevent hydroplaning.
Canada's Wonderland
On May 11, 2003, two guests were involved in a fight over $10 worth of marijuana at the front gate of the park, which led to a shooting death. Metal detectors were added at the front gate, along with the implementation of bag checks for additional security following the incident. On October 26, 2014, two people were stabbed in the parking lot after the park had closed. One of the victims, a 21-year-old man, was pronounced dead at the scene. The other victim, an 18-year-old man, was taken to an area hospital with "life-threatening injuries" but was later released. Police arrested and charged an 18-year-old man in connection with the attack several weeks later. They believed the attack was part of a confrontation between two groups that began inside the park and escalated in the parking lot. On October 13, 2023, a police officer was patrolling the parking lot when he noticed a 17-year-old male behaving suspiciously and exited his vehicle. The teen then ran away from the officer and reached Jane Street between Norwood Avenue and Avro Road where he was fatally struck by a vehicle. He was rushed to the hospital in serious condition. He died six days later on October 19 due to his injuries. The province's police watchdog Special Investigations Unit (Ontario) was notified of the incident. On July 12, 2025, there was a report of a possible firearm seen at Leviathan. No firearm was found during the investigation and the park was slowly emptied after the incident.
Bat On July 20, 2004, at around 9 p.m., 20 people were stranded on the coaster 30 metres (98 f) above the ground for 20 minutes due to a malfunction.
Lumberjack On July 18, 2021, riders on Lumberjack were stranded upside down for 5minutes due to a possible control malfunction. Nobody was injured. The ride reopened at 1:41p.m. the same day.=https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x82wac7 On September 23, 2023, during the park's Halloween Haunt event at approximately 10:40p.m., riders on Lumberjack were stranded upside down for 25 minutes until the park's maintenance team brought it down by 11:05p.m.
Splash Works On July 31, 2022, a small fire broke out at Splash Works shortly after a fireworks display destroying a section of the 'Super Soaker' water slide and a pump-house below it. Nobody was injured, but the water park remained closed the next day following the incident. It reopened one day later on August 2 with limited operations.
Swing of the Century On July 11, 2024, a 17-year-old girl fell from Swing of the Century while riding and was taken to a trauma center at a nearby hospital. The Wave Swinger model from Zierer reaches a maximum height of , and the extent of the rider's injuries was not revealed.
Victoria Falls In 1988, an 18-year-old unauthorized swimmer drowned in the pond below the waterfall of Victoria Falls. After swimming for 10 minutes, he approached the falls to retrieve a frisbee. His brother attempted to help but was pulled underwater several times. Resuscitation efforts by park staff failed. Wonderland's Director of Engineering denied the pond had an undertow, but the incident was later blamed on a whirlpool effect created by the waterfall.
Woodstock Whirlybirds On August 23, 2003, the Jimmy Neutron Brainwasher (later renamed Woodstock Whirlybirds) had a single unit fall from its mounting spindle. Two children and their mother were sent to a hospital with broken bones and lacerations.
Carowinds
On June 9, 2016, a transformer exploded nearby, causing a park-wide power outage. Riders were stranded on various rides, including 17 on WindSeeker and an unspecified number on Thunder Striker and Fury 325. Some guests waited over an hour before being evacuated. No injuries were reported, and the park reopened the following day in limited capacity. On September 5, 2016, around the time the park was closing, police were notified that a 22-year-old man allegedly shot a 14-year-old boy in the bus parking lot. It was reported that the altercation began as an argument inside the park before escalating outside. The man was arrested by police, and the boy was rushed to a nearby hospital to treat life-threatening injuries. On August 7, 2023, multiple people assaulted a security guard who was attempting to escort a man out of the park. The man had reportedly become irate after employees told him he could not board a ride without a shirt on. As the security guard tried to escort the man, several of the man's friends and relatives assaulted the guard. The man and a 17-year-old were arrested at the scene and a 19-year-old man was arrested several days later. Police also sought the location of a woman believed to be involved.
Carolina Harbor On June 7, 1987, five people were arrested for allegedly shooting two people inside Carolina Harbor with an unregistered machine gun. A 16-year-old girl playing in the wave pool was killed after being shot by a large caliber bullet. The other victim was a 6-year-old girl who was shot in the abdomen but survived after hospitalization. On July 5, 1989, an 11-year-old boy drowned in the wave pool. Lifeguards pulled the unresponsive victim out of the water and unsuccessfully tried to resuscitate him. He was pronounced dead at Charlotte Memorial Hospital.
Copperhead Strike On August 18, 2019, a guest was taken to the hospital after injuring his hand while riding Copperhead Strike. The ride was shut down temporarily for investigation.
Drop Tower On May 17, 1996, one of the cars on Drop Tower failed to ascend to the top of the tower after the safety control system locked the brakes. Park maintenance was unable to manually release the braking system. Three riders were stranded in the air for nearly three hours before being rescued.
Fury 325 On June 30, 2023, a park guest reported that a support column on Fury 325 had suffered a crack that caused it to separate from the track. The ride was closed that day and remained closed while repairs were pursued. All trains and guests made it safely back to the station without injury or derailment. The ride has since reopened after the support column was replaced.
Hover & Dodge On June 4, 2018, a bumper car on the ride caught fire but was quickly extinguished by the ride attendant. There were no injuries. The ride passed inspection and resumed normal operation.
Mountain Gliders