Six Flags retires X2: who checks California’s amusement rides

Visitors planning a trip to Six Flags Magic Mountain will no longer have X2 as an option. The Southern California park announced the coaster’s permanent retirement on September 29, 2026. It had already been shut since July 12; this decision ends the prospect of reopening. Six Flags’ announcement, FOX 11.

Park President Brian Oerding said X2 had consistently passed numerous safety tests, but that affected guest confidence prompted the decision. His statement does not identify those tests or publish their findings.

The closure comes amid lawsuits alleging serious brain injuries. Among the plaintiffs is 25-year-old Naomi Greer-Wilkinson, who collapsed after leaving X2 in July and remains hospitalized, according to FOX 11’s September 29 report. Plaintiffs’ attorneys say they will continue pursuing claims despite the retirement.

The shutdown, settlement and retirement are separate events. Associated Press reporting, published by WOKV, establishes this sequence:

• July 12: X2 stops operating after two women who rode less than a week apart were hospitalized after exiting.
• Late August: Six Flags settles the wrongful-death lawsuit brought by the family of Christopher Hawley, 22, who died after riding X2 in 2022.
• The week before the announcement: Three more lawsuits alleging traumatic brain injuries are filed.
• September 29: The park announces permanent retirement.

AP also reported on September 29 that California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health, known as Cal/OSHA, had opened an investigation after the July incidents and said it remained ongoing.

For visitors trying to understand a claim that a ride passed inspections, California’s system has several distinct parts. Its inspection rules distinguish annual checks from additional inspections prompted by accidents or credible safety concerns:

The annual inspector can be a park employee. Under California’s definitions, qualified inspectors may work for the operator, an insurer, the manufacturer, the state or an independent contractor. Structural checks examine supports, foundations, bracing and track. Operational checks address how the ride runs, including safety systems and procedures such as restraints, brakes and emergency arrangements.

The state’s annual oversight adds a different view: records of what happened over time and observation of normal operation with passengers during an unannounced visit. The rules also provide for an announced inspection without passengers. Cal/OSHA explains that this separate announced inspection is omitted when its own inspector performs the annual inspection. The regulations allow limited substitution by qualifying local inspection programs. California’s inspection rules.

Accident response has its own timetable. Operators must immediately telephone the state about known ride-related accidents resulting in death or serious injury beyond ordinary first aid. The state determines whether equipment or conditions must be preserved. When it decides preservation is necessary, it must make a reasonable effort to begin inspection within 24 hours of receiving the operator’s report. California’s accident-response rules.

These requirements alone do not establish X2’s compliance with them. The cited sources provide no X2-specific inspection reports or final investigative findings. Likewise, permanent retirement and the fact of a settlement do not, by themselves, establish liability for the alleged injuries.

Visitors do have a way to see some oversight paperwork. For rides using the annual certificate-of-compliance process, California requires current state notices accepting a certificate or identifying deficiencies to be available for public inspection at the park during normal business hours. If they are kept centrally, a sign at the ride entrance must say where to find them. Those notices concern certificate status; answering what happened to X2’s riders requires the investigation and evidence behind the individual claims.