More than 290 million people visited a theme park in the US in 2010, enjoying 1.7 billion rides.

For all the fear associated with those rides, things are relatively safe at theme parks across the country. According to the National Safety Council's most recent survey of conditions at parks, 1,299 people were injured.

That figure includes injuries like twisted ankles and scraped knees, Bill Powers of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions says.

But that has not allayed concerns that dangerous events still lie on the tracks — especially after dozens of Americans have died in accidents at theme parks over the past few decades.

Ahead of Tuesday's earnings announcement, we thought that we'd review some of the worst incidents at Six Flags, the nation's largest theme-park operator.