KTLA-5 News/APWorkers rescue people from the Ninja coaster at Six Flags. Nearly two dozen riders of a roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain got more thrills than they were expecting on Monday when a tree branch obstructed the track at the Southern California amusement park, dislodging part of the train. It took three hours for crews to evacuate all 22 passengers off the suspended Ninja coaster. Four riders were injured when the ride came to a screeching halt, but all of the injuries were deemed initially minor. It could've been catastrophic -- especially with one of the cars perilously hanging off of the track. The accident took place after the market close on Monday, but shares of Six Flags (SIX) dipped a mere 0.2 percent on Tuesday -- considerably better than the overall market's decline that day. Wall Street either didn't make the connection or figured that Six Flags isn't likely to suffer any attendance declines as a result of the incident. Accidents Happen It's early in the busy season for regional amusement park operators, but there have already been plenty of cases of popular coasters being temporarily stalled due to mechanical breakdowns. Evacuations using cherry pickers with folks shuttled off to hospitals as a precaution are rare -- and this may be the first tree-related incident resulting in a partial derailing -- but setbacks happen. As a park-goer or an investor in Six Flags, Cedar Fair (FUN) or even Disney (DIS), this doesn't mean that it's time to worry. There are risks involved in every kind of social outing, and the occasional accident on a roller coaster shouldn't be a deciding factor in whether you let your children on the rides or decide to hold back on your own white-knuckled pursuits.
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