The troubled history of the Rattler at Six Flags Fiesta Texas

TheRattler

This archived story was posted online for our recent investigation of the thrill ride industry, and it links to internal documents at Fiesta Texas. The documents reveal how park officials were still working out the kinks of the flagship wooden rollercoaster, the Rattler, after the park’s grand opening in 1992. They tracked hundreds of injuries that were never reported to state officials.

Related: Internal memos: Fiesta Texas struggled to control the Rattler’s ‘excessive speeds’

The key memos:

Excessive speeds of the Rattler

Six Flags Fiesta Texas Memo about the Rattler Rollercoaster

Rushed construction at Six Flags

Memo describes rushed construction of the Rattler at Six Flags Fiesta Texas

Questionable excess g-forces

Excess G Forces on the Rattler Roller Coaster Caused Injuries