The Smiler Incident 02/06/15

[Tryst]

"Human error" is never the cause of an accident, but a symptom of an underlying problem.

The Ladbrook Grove rail crash was a good example of that. It's easy to blame the train drivers for passing the signal at danger, or the signaller for failing to redirect the trains to avoid the collision, but in reality the cause of the accident was a combination of poor infrastructure and bad design interacting with the limitations of human beings.

This is speculation (as I've not seen HSE's report yet), but I suspect that while "human error" may feature in the contributing causes, there will be other issues surrounding procedure, technology and organisational culture.

[Dom]

"Human error" is never the cause of an accident, but a symptom of an underlying problem.

I'm sorry but I don't feel that this is true. Some road traffic accidents are caused by human error. So you can't say that human error is never the cause of an accident. I do however agree that in the majority of cases it is an underlying cause but not the cause.

As for the safety measures in place, I'm sure that they have been improved dramatically since the accident. I don't know what measures have been brought in as I haven't visited the park since the ride reopened, and also the fact that I haven't really paid that much attention.

As for the events of the day, if Merlin hadn't plead guilty it would look very bad on them considering they had accepted responsibility previously.

I would also like to remind people that this will cause a lot of debate, as it has done previously, so please try and keep it polite and friendly. Also TowersTimes will have a full article on today's events later.

[theparklifekid]

I wonder if this sort of action would reduce the fine imposed on them. Also I thought I read that the sentence date was the 20th May, but I can't find it again.

It has been confirmed that the sentence date will be on 20th May and district judge John McGarva said Merlin would face a “very large fine”.

Heres hoping the victims and the park will be alright on this date.

[NemesisRider]

I think we all expected Merlin to plead guilty. They've accepted responsibility unlike what most companies would do in this kind of situation.

I think Merlin have conducted themselves well and I don't think there's anything I could fault them with how they've handled this. Again, I know it's their ride and I am by no means belittling what the victims experienced, but Merlin have compensated those involved and been respectful about how they reopened the ride and operated their park after the incident (like removing the "Welcome to Eternal Darkness" from Oblivion, as someone would have found that offensive I'm sure).

Im a bit mixed on how I feel about a "very large fine" though. I personally feel a smaller fine but insisting they inject more funds into top notch inspections would be a better resolution, however we don't know how large it will be. I know I'm very bias towards the park operators as I love Towers and want it to succeed (more success generally means more exciting things coming in the future) but I think whatever happens, maybe Merlin, the people injured and everyone else might be able to move on towards a better future

[Liam.W]

Here are all the photos of the train that collided into the stationary train:











The video showing the cars removal can be found here

[aircanman]

Seeing these pictures really hits home, it's such a shame that it happened. Alton Towers are doing the right thing pleading guilty, they have done everything right with full respect for the injured and future customers and I respect them for that. I just hope that the inevitable fine is not going to impact too much on the future of the park, and that they continue to invest in it's rides and infrastructure.

[Master_feedback]

They had no choice they had to pled guilty or it would have been a long public court case and merlin don't want that
A Large fine is subjective

they were fined 150k for the tomb blaster fall and 490k for the death at warwick castle

so a large (the above giving an idea ) fine is coming but that compaired to the money lost last year and the projected loss of trade merlin already think is coming over the next two years ....

[aircanman]

They had no choice they had to pled guilty or it would have been a long public court case and merlin don't want that
A Large fine is subjective

they were fined 150k for the tomb blaster fall and 490k for the death at warwick castle

so a large (the above giving an idea ) fine is coming but that compaired to the money lost last year and the projected loss of trade merlin already think is coming over the next two years ....

I would be surprised if the fine is under £1,000,000, seems to be the way things are going nowadays, slap a huge fine to teach a big lesson.

[demz_4]

Heres something I've just spotted which is quite odd, and I'm pretty sure i don't recall hearing anybody discuss.

I've picked out three images, which on inspection all have different setups regarding the 'handle' area of the front metal bars on the barrier section of the carriages. Does anybody recall a reason for these three different types of design the train has gone through whilst being operated? and why?

Have the carriages been altered in pre season at all since the accident i wonder?

Ive attached the images below to show at least three front panels to my knowledge that the trains have had. whats weird is i remember each stage looking back, but don't ever remember thinking anythings different when I've actually ridden each type lol?

strange...








Something else to note, they have also had multiple dirt/spray guards styles on the wheels themselves over the years.. they started as drilled out yellow guards, and as of today have solid yellow guards on. what on earth could be the reason for this?

These trains i get the impression have had A LOT! more work on than we've ever really noticed. Mechanically I'm sure they have also had several design changes


Credits to whoever took the photos.

[Liam.W]

Do you know the order that the 3 different designs were in use? I remember all 3 but can't quite remember the order.

I think in regards to the guard things on the wheels: I think it is just do to standard winter maintenance and these are probably replaced each year, and they can't guarantee they will use the same design.

[Dan]

In terms of the design of the front of the train, with the exception of the fittings on the top rail they are identical. I highly doubt that the structural layout of the train has been changed since 2013.

Is it possible that they have altered the top rail so frequently in an attempt to reduce drag on the train? I'm not sure what the difference in resistance the yellow panels made but there must be a reason for them being removed?

When it comes to today's news, the most shocking thing for me is the state of the train that crashed. It makes you realise just how harrowing the ordeal must have been for all involved and I think Vicky deserves great credit to be walking unaided less than 10 months after the crash.

It must be said just how well Merlin have conducted themselves. I think they were always going to plead guilty and they will accept whatever fine is imposed on them with good grace.

[xylyx]

Seeing the carriages is very disturbing, the amount of give in those rails is insane, no wonder it was so serious.

Aye it was no surprise at the guilty plea, more than anything though I'm amazed they have managed to get the court case through so quickly, that's quite a speedy turnaround. I believe they have stated that the fine will be millions, though I'm sure it will be mitigated by Merlin's exemplary action following the incident.

[Ryan.B]

Could the different train designs be due to onboard cameras, as when it first opened I don't think they were there, they put them on and now I think they've been taken off again.

[MJNemesis]

It's refreshing to see a company be so open from the start. I don't think any fingers should be pointed or any speculations made. They have held up their hands and said "yes, this is our fault". I hope the fine isn't bonkers and I hope we don't see personal psychological injury claims coming out of the woodwork either. Once the fine has been dished out, the media interviews should stop.

The honesty has shot the media down somewhat (I've seen some outrageous articles published in a desperate attempt to make Merlin look bad which seem to have failed) and I think it has helped the recovery process. People have quite rightly thought about the victims and questioned the coaster along the way but things have moved on.

I think the Smiler would still be SBNO had Merlin buried their heads.

[wamdue]

there is not even the slightest question that those pictures are shocking, for all those videos of people screaming in horror, that cold light of day photo is the most telling thing, it is a real horror to think of being on that front row, that the two people in the middle only lost one leg is a miracle.

It does make me wonder about the design of it, it seems clear here was no thought into designing it to protect people in a crash, it was thought that their efforts were best spent in preventing a crash. Of course putting anything upfront is added weight, which im sure isnt a good thing in a rollercoaster, has the front of the carriage changed any?

[tcw1993]

I have a question. Which I apologise if it's been asked or answered, surely you should NOT be able to override the blocks on the ride unless you're maintenance? Why are the ride ops being shown how to override systems?


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[Jack]

Ride ops cannot override the system, which is why I think people need to stop blaming the op as I believe it was a miscommunication between the op and maintenance.

[Kraken]

I have a question. Which I apologise if it's been asked or answered, surely you should NOT be able to override the blocks on the ride unless you're maintenance? Why are the ride ops being shown how to override systems?


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On a typical ride control panel, there will be a number of keyswitches that enable maintenance mode / transfer track / block resets / overrides etc. All these switches will be left in the Automatic / Normal / Run position by the maintenance team when the sign the ride over to the park operations staff. All keys will be removed from the ride control panel.

The ride operator is given one key for the ride control panel - the power key. All the operator can do is turn the ride on / off and run it in normal automatic / run mode. If a block fault (or indeed any possible fault) is detected, the control system will stop the ride - which is what happened on June 2nd. The operator can do nothing to override the ride, as they don't - or should not - be in possession of the necessary override keys.

A full set of override keys (that allows maintenance mode access / resets on anything) should only be held by maintenance personnel. A limited set of override keys (e.g. that allows transfer track use) can be held by a Team Leader as a train may need to be added / removed during the day. As long as the train has been signed off for use that day, there is no need for maintenance to be called just to add or remove a train, as it's normally a simple task.

So, back to June 2nd - the ride control system did exactly what it should have done. It detected a missing train / block fault and stopped the movement of other trains. Now if correct procedures are being followed, the operator can do nothing here, as they need override keys to reset the system, which they should not be in possession of. So seemingly someone (be that maintenance or a team leader) with override keys was also present when the ride was reset - or - the operator had keys they should not have had.

If it had been maintenance personnel who had over-ridden the control system, then the buck would stop at the head of Technical Services door. If it has been ride operations staff (so the Op or a Team Leader) then the buck would stop with the director of Park Operations. The latter quietly left the business in January.

[Aidan Lowe]

Well today is the court date at Stafford Crown court.

[bryn_the_pen]

Hope it goes well, for both parties involved


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