What Really Killed X2?

"Going down…"

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— Aerosmith, "Love In An Elevator"

For over 25 years, the roller coaster now known as X2 has dominated the view as guests pull into the Magic Mountain parking lot. An engineering marvel, the towering steel structure served as a gateway to the thrills beyond.

Or at least it did.

Earlier this month, Six Flags announced that X2, which has been standing but not operating (SBNO) since July, will not make any additional runs. The coaster has been retired without riders getting a chance to say goodbye to what I considered the most terrifying ride in the park.

"You let your kids go on that?"

It was definitely my fault. I have been riding roller coasters since my dad introduced me to the thrills as a kid. That's why I didn't think twice as I led my sister-in-law up to the beast that is X2. It was the first ride of the day, so I didn't even give her a chance to ease into the experience.

As the train pulled into the station, it was immediately apparent that this ride would be different. Instead of riding on top of the rails, the cars sat beside the track, jiggling slightly as they moved along. Instead of pulling down a shoulder harness or lap bar, you worked your way into a butterfly harness and then adjusted it to your height.

After safety checks, the train was dispatched to the sounds of Harry Connick Jr. singing "It Had to Be You." It would be the last calm moment for the next two minutes and 34 seconds.

As the car entered the lift hill, the soundtrack transitioned to a more appropriate Metallica song. Facing backwards and listening to the opening strain of "Enter Sandman," we could eventually see the entire park with the Santa Clarita Valley framing the view. On my first ride, I sat back and enjoyed it. On later rides, I knew what came next, and the adrenaline was already pumping as my body braced for the ride.

As the train crested the hill, Steven Tyler sang your next direction, and the soundtrack went silent. First came a slight dip. And then came THE DROP.

The jiggling I mentioned earlier came from extra rails built into the track that controlled the seats' rotation. This unique feature made X2 a "4th dimension" coaster, a prototype that has only been replicated in two other locations. For the first drop, the seats faced the ground as the Beastie Boys' "Sabotage" blasted from the speakers. Yes, it was terrifying.

While the track itself only inverted twice during its course, your seat could rotate 360 degrees, most of the time turning you in a direction far different than what you were expecting. By the time the soundtrack transitioned to Rage Against the Machine and the train came to a jolting stop in the station, any sense of direction was obliterated.

Coming off the ride, my sister-in-law checked on her nieces and had a hard time believing that they had liked the ride as much as they had. I assured her that the other rides were not as terrifying.

The assumption that we made as we boarded the ride was that it was designed to scare the shit out of us, but was engineered to be completely safe. Reporting by CNN in the months before the closure calls that assumption into question.

Taken at face value, CNN's reporting paints a disturbing picture of the coaster, citing allegations that at least two people died after riding. It also quoted lawyers who said they had been in touch with hundreds of people who claimed X2 caused serious injuries, including brain bleeds and other traumatic brain injuries.

If accurate, this reporting could help prevent future injuries and deaths by holding the largest operator of regional amusement parks accountable for safety concerns. It would be a shining example of why a free and independent press matters.

But what happens when the pursuit of ratings and clicks comes at the expense of journalistic responsibilities? Roller coasters are scary by nature, making it easy to sensationalize stories about them in pursuit of eyeballs and clicks.

X2 is not the first roller coaster at Magic Mountain to come under the scrutiny of the media. With forces in excess of 4.5 G exerted during the helix of Goliath's finale, some riders can experience grey-outs, temporarily affecting their vision. This led to press reports questioning the safety of the ride after a 28-year-old passenger died following a ride. But after an investigation, the death was not attributed to a ride malfunction or defect. The Medical Examiner instead found a preexisting aneurysm and determined that the ride may have triggered its rupture.

That distinction is important: a ride can trigger a medical event without being unsafe or malfunctioning. After a ten-day closure, Goliath reopened and continues to operate.

Six Flags says more than 16 million guests experienced X2 since it opened in 2008. Most experienced nothing more than abject fear. Sensational reporting can thrive on evidence that someone who rode the ride was injured. CNN reported that lawyers representing hundreds of people had received such claims.

But fair and accurate reporting also requires asking a more difficult question: what specifically caused the injury? The experts CNN interviewed stated that the injuries were consistent with a traumatic acceleration-deceleration event like the one experienced on X2. But a typical day at Magic Mountain may include riding multiple roller coasters. Determining whether an injury stemmed specifically from X2, rather than some other factor, requires more than timing alone. The appearance of symptoms during or after a ride doesn't establish causation.

This type of reporting requires nuance, something our media is not always good at.

The way the media handled shark attacks in 2001 offers a useful comparison. Extensive coverage created the impression that shark attacks were surging worldwide. In reality, there were fewer unprovoked attacks globally than the year before. The gap between perception and reality became a textbook example of how media attention can amplify fear.

In the amusement park industry, this type of scrutiny can have dire consequences. After the release of Blackfish, a documentary distributed by CNN, SeaWorld faced declining attendance and revenue. Whatever one's view of the film's arguments, its impact demonstrated the power of media coverage to reshape public perception.

Six Flags says "X2 consistently passed a multitude of safety tests," but the company decided to retire it after guest confidence was affected. Even if the ride was technically safe, the sheer volume of coverage may have done more to shape public perception than a nuanced examination of the evidence.

As a fan of coasters, I hold out hope that there is some way to save the experience.

Six Flags' use of the word "retire" leaves me wondering: Is it referring to the entire structure or just the ride as it exists today? Does that leave the park with an opening if further investigation or engineering analysis finds a way to preserve the concept with reduced risk to riders?

X2 began its life as X, a groundbreaking coaster painted in a hideous yellow-and-pink color scheme and plagued with reliability problems. When those issues became too substantial to overlook, it was closed for a complete overhaul.

Rebranded as X2, the "new" coaster had lighter trains and a sleeker black-and-red color scheme. Onboard audio, fog, and fire effects were also added.

It may be a long shot, but perhaps "retirement" leaves room for what happened once before: a radical redesign and a rebirth as X3?

A coaster nerd can dream.

Carl Petersen is a former Green Party candidate for the LAUSD School Board and a longtime advocate for public education and special needs families. Now based in Washington State, he writes about politics, culture, and their intersections at TheDifrntDrmr.