State inspection records show Goliath passed annual inspections for years before the incident. Georgia’s Office of Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire is leading the investigation but has said it cannot discuss specific inspections or potential safety issues while the inquiry is ongoing.

A comparison of rules in states with major amusement parks shows differing approaches to oversight. New Jersey conducts annual ride inspections, employs engineers to review new rides and modifications, and carries out random operational inspections. Ohio requires annual permits and initial inspections before rides open, and allows reinspections and additional inspections. In California, new permanent rides must pass an operational inspection before opening to the public.

Florida generally inspects permanent rides twice a year, but exempts large parks with more than 1,000 employees and full-time inspectors from the state’s ride-inspection program. After 14-year-old Tyre Sampson died in a 2022 amusement-ride fall, Florida strengthened requirements for certain rides to include both a primary restraint and a secondary one, such as a seat belt.

The Georgia investigation has not established publicly what caused Kariem’s fall. Maintenance records for Goliath have been requested, and Six Flags has not commented on the investigation. The park was scheduled to reopen Friday at 6 p.m.