The Smiler Incident 02/06/15

[JonDoesTT]

In a sad way human error maybe the worst possible out come for AT it means that process wasent followed or worst enforced or full and comprehensive training failed to be given the gp will think they have been lacking where it comes to gp h&s.....

I agree, it might not have been the best possible outcome.

[Rita Fan]

Quite glad it's human error, to be honest. I told my friends at the start of the investigation into the accident, I knew it was not a mechanical failure. If it was, however, a mechanical fault, then it would NEVER reopen.

[Kraken]

As per my previous comment, above... If correct procedures were being followed with regard to override keys, then the ride operator is not to blame for this. The only key they should have had is a single power on / off key. As soon as something went wrong & the "computer said no", someone with a higher level of authority (so a Team Leader / Technical Services) would have been called - only they should have override keys & only they should use them.

On pretty much all big rides, the operator cannot dispatch a train alone with the ride in "normal" mode. There will be a remote-enable button(s) that host(s) have to push & hold before the operators dispatch button(s) will work.

So someone in possession of override keys cocked-up big time. I would not like to be that person - as the HSE will at the very least issue a large fine on Alton Towers / Merlin. They could prosecute if they can prove that documented procedures were not followed - which seems to be the case.

[Sawboss]

There were found to be no technical or mechanical problems with the ride itself.

Now I can quote that to people who say it's a deathtrap. Don't hurt my baby, it's done nothing wrong!

[Dan]

So what we all speculated has been confirmed.

I have every faith that Merlin/Alton Towers have gone over every piece of the ride with a fine toothcomb during their investigation and I will have no hesitation to be in that queue on opening day next season.

[MakoMania]

So what we all speculated has been confirmed.

I have every faith that Merlin/Alton Towers have gone over every piece of the ride with a fine toothcomb during their investigation and I will have no hesitation to be in that queue on opening day next season.

Same here. Is there going to be a huge rush for the ride from enthusiasts on 19th March?

No doubt the mirror will be in attendance as well :lol

[kemperink]

There were found to be no technical or mechanical problems with the ride itself.

Now I can quote that to people who say it's a deathtrap. Don't hurt my baby, it's done nothing wrong!

apart from the design floor which allowed a car to stall in the first place

[MerlinFan]

I think The Daily Mail article has been very fairly and neutrally written actually. Not as terribly biased as it could have been.

Pleased that lessons have been learnt and that this hasn't marked the end for The Smiler. Do feel for the engineer who was at fault though... but how do you not notice that a test carriage hasn't returned back to the station? If the ride sensors are flashing and saying there is another carriage on the track, then surely you would check that out before overriding the safety feature that stopped the full carriage? That is a severe mistake to make - did they actually choose to just ignore the ride safety sensors? It's just all so bizarre!

[Dan]

apart from the design floor which allowed a car to stall in the first place

Despite its well documented issues with stalling early in its life, on the day of the crash The Smiler hadn't stalled for the best part of two years. Every rollercoaster has the potential to stall, it's just because The Smiler did it three times in quick succession people now associate it as one that will stall easily.

What you have to remember is that the wind gusts were around 50mph on 2nd June. This was the main contributing factor behind the stall on that day and not the design of the ride.

[Sawboss]

apart from the design floor which allowed a car to stall in the first place

That the ride detected and stopped operating.

[Liam.W]

Towers Times news: http://www.towerstimes.co.uk/blog/2015/ ... -incident/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[timmy1372]

My wife, who puts up with my theme park obsession and is pretty much just a typical member of the public who might occasionally visit alton towers, reckons human error is the worst result for the park, she would of ridden it again if it was mechanical in some way, failed sensors or something, because it could be "fixed" she won't ride it now because human error could happen again, I'm not saying she's right, but it might be the view of the majority of the general public

She is also content that the same level of human error on other rides, such as nemesis, would not result in an accident, which is probably true, and she will still ride those!

[xylyx]

Yeah the daily Mail article was fine, just raking over old ground whilst reporting the news of the investigation report. It was the comments section that I was highlighting lol it's a highly strung readership at the best of times but I love their extreme moral outrage, it seems to blind all common sense/logic/basic human decency lol.

As for the outcome it may well taint how some people view the ride hosts through the rest of the park, but they do view them as incompetent most of the time anyway, without any good reason, so I don't think it will change a great deal. Not being Mechanical is better in that it means nothing needs to be altered on the ride itself, which is good as it can get up and running much quicker. I think there will be a rush to ride, I know people who will be happy to go back now it's due to open again. I cant wait to ride it again myself, give it a few weeks of smooth running and things will hopefully start picking back up.

Just hope the rumours of all the other ride closures are incorrect or misconstrued at worst, but that's topic for another thread.

[Tommy85]

Do feel for the engineer who was at fault though... but how do you not notice that a test carriage hasn't returned back to the station? If the ride sensors are flashing and saying there is another carriage on the track, then surely you would check that out before overriding the safety feature that stopped the full carriage? That is a severe mistake to make - did they actually choose to just ignore the ride safety sensors? It's just all so bizarre!

My theory is that this was a 'boy that cried wolf' scenario.
Throughout the day the ride had been experiencing multiple stoppages all the time when there had been nothing wrong with it. From guest reports on the day these stoppages were short so I suspect it was due to over sensitive sensors shutting down the ride for no reason. Each time it happened it would of been investigated only to find out 'hey there is nothing wrong here'. In a cruel twist of fate the one time the sensors stopped the ride for the right reasons the engineer probably thought 'im getting fed up of this, there is nothing wrong with it' and restarted without checking.
I must point out this is only my theory and I have no evidence to back this up. But like you said I cant for the life of me think of any other reason why they wouldn't of bothered to check?

[118hazaman]

She is also content that the same level of human error on other rides, such as nemesis, would not result in an accident, which is probably true, and she will still ride those!

Would she only not ride The Smiler, or every other multi-train roller coaster. It makes sense why on Nemesis a collision of that kind is unlikely, but what about Sonic Spinball?

[stealthsmiler]

The Mirror have released an article about the six rides being shut and relating it to the human error in the smiler incident. Could this in anyway influence Alton towers to keep them open


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[homer22422]

The Mirror have released an article about the six rides being shut and relating it to the human error in the smiler incident. Could this in anyway influence Alton towers to keep them open
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Where did the mirror get this information from? Are they just spreading the crap like they always do?

[Sawboss]

Even if the statement about the crash hadn't been released they'd still be reporting the rumours as news, then copy/pasteing the article about the crash again.

[Themeparksandy1981]

At work it's been the 1st time since June that people have been talking about the Smiler. They said with the amount of technology in the world today the computer system should have not aloud staff to restart the ride to the reported sensor was cleared. Which it wasn't as the stalled car was still there. It worked in the 1st place stopping the 2nd car on the lift hill but fail by failing to pick up the stalled car again after the reset.

[Sawboss]

That attitude is irritating, people say accidents shouldn't happen because technology is so advanced these days but you ask them to explain anything about said technology and they have no idea. 'Technology' just means the magic that makes things go.
The more advanced technology becomes the more there is to go wrong, partly the Smilers problem with it being a complex coaster crammed into a tiny space.
It's the kind of vague opinion held by people who ring into daytime talk radio, don't know anything about the subject but they damn well have strong opinion that needs to be expressed!
I should stop ranting.