The Smiler Incident 02/06/15

[daboywunda]

Here's Mine:

"The treatment of Ms Burley of Nick Varney during the "interview" showed complete dis-regard for him as she was rude throughout and was mis-representing fact by placing words in to Mr Varneys mouth or twisting what he had said to create a headline sound-bite. This was a blatant attempt of trial by media, with Sky believing that they have the right to press for an answer "in the public interest" when in reality, the HSE investigation is still on-going, so would have been inappropriate for Mr Varney to disclose details. It for the HSE to establish the facts, not Sky News. More so when pressed about the injured. If Mr Varney had disclosed information that was demanded of him, he would have been in breech of DPA (on sensitive information disclosure)
Ms Burley then commented (and confirmed by the tone she used) that the ride was in the process of “being dismantled”, implying that the ride is being demolished completely, rather than parts removed as forensic evidence (stated in the HSE / Alton Towers Press Release) – Misrepresenting facts.
The style of interview was needlessly aggressive, especially when it was stated that this was an "interview, not a statement", with the actions of Ms Burley turning it in to a one-sided interrogation towards Mr Varney rather than a two-way conversation.
Therefore this interview is in breach of Section 7 of the Broadcasting Code (7.1 Broadcasters must avoid unjust or unfair treatment of individuals or organisations in programmes.)"

[tgm999]

There's even a petition now to get her sacked with 78 signitures so far. https://www.change.org/p/sky-news-sack- ... ick-varney" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Lee]

I'm going to buck the trend a little here and say that whilst I've always disliked her and her general interview techniques, she does raise a valid and fair point that Nick failed to successfully and honestly answer - If such dramatic and immediate changes are required across the Merlin portfolio of attractions, were they either knowingly or unknowingly operating unsafe rides? The answer for me is quite possibly. The HSE seem to believe so, or have at the very least raised an issue in confidence of their operational standards and risk to the public and Merlin have reacted appropriately.

I've been unnaturally quiet about the incident due to my previous and open dislike of how The Smiler was constructed, badly implemented and opened. It's operation was very flawed initially, however it did feel as if the attraction was finally gaining some smooth ground recently and becoming quite a reliable ride on a more permanent basis.

What happened on Tuesday was and is absolutely horrific and should never have happened. What the HSE, Merlin and Towers will have been aiming to discover as a course of absolute priority will be why the train left Lift Hill One with a carriage stalled on an element. The ride systems in standard operating mode just won't allow such a thing and I feel that the primary investigative results are pointing towards human/manual error, which is why we have seen the immediate closure of SAW: The Ride. What I find most interesting is the sudden closure of other multi-train coasters across Merlin operated parks, which leads me to believe that the HSE have lost enough confidence in the ability of Merlin to operate those coaster types to implement a temporary prohibition of operation. What makes this incident so awful is that Merlin is the worlds second largest operator of attractions - an operator like that should not be closing attractions due to an accident of this type.

The media hysteria and circus has been awful to watch from an enthusiast point of view and Alton, and now Merlin as all their parks are being progressively dragged into it, have to be extremely careful how they go forward from this. Whilst it's terrible to see such negative and sometimes badly researched reports on the news, many quite rightfully discuss previous issued with The Smiler and question the safety record of it. No report every looks positive for the resort when they discuss the train previously stalling in exactly the same place and the public will quite rightfully question the resorts decision not to 'fix it.' The resort itself has handled the situation amazingly well and they deserve absolute credit in that respect, each and every social media interaction has been positive and it seems the tide of hate towards them has finally ebbed away. It'll be interesting to see how they regain control of the situation once the dust has settled and they're operating next week.

I've been asked over and over if I believe they'll keep the attraction and I struggle each time. The Smiler ceased to exist at 14:09 on Tuesday, and I firmly think the resort will remove that branding entirely to save face. The public won't accept a retheme, and a reprofile is most likely out of the question. The ride will always be 'the one that nearly killed people' or 'the death coaster' which leaves the resort with a difficult choice - abandon their £18 million attraction and admit defeat, or push on and hope the public are as forgiving as they seem to be online.

Merlin clearly have some very important lessons to learn, and quickly.

[Tom170499]

There's even a petition now to get her sacked with 78 signitures so far. https://www.change.org/p/sky-news-sack- ... ick-varney" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Just signed it and shared on Facebook!

[Dannyski]

Here's an analogy for what has happened - if a plane crashes it does not necessarily mean that the safety of the airline or the plane is at fault but that 'something' has gone wrong.
Just like aircraft, rides have many layers of redundant safety measure and usually with aircraft accidents it's a combination of many freak factors that come together with tragic consequences - I believe that is what we will see here as events become clear.

The reality of this is that, as bad as this is and as heartbreaking as it must be for those involved, this will most likely be the only major accident we will see at a Merlin park - in our lifetimes.

[tgm999]

I'm going to buck the trend a little here and say that whilst I've always disliked her and her general interview techniques, she does raise a valid and fair point that Nick failed to successfully and honestly answer - If such dramatic and immediate changes are required across the Merlin portfolio of attractions, were they either knowingly or unknowingly operating unsafe rides? The answer for me is quite possibly. The HSE seem to believe so, or have at the very least raised an issue in confidence of their operational standards and risk to the public and Merlin have reacted appropriately.

I've been unnaturally quiet about the incident due to my previous and open dislike of how The Smiler was constructed, badly implemented and opened. It's operation was very flawed initially, however it did feel as if the attraction was finally gaining some smooth ground recently and becoming quite a reliable ride on a more permanent basis.

What happened on Tuesday was and is absolutely horrific and should never have happened. What the HSE, Merlin and Towers will have been aiming to discover as a course of absolute priority will be why the train left Lift Hill One with a carriage stalled on an element. The ride systems in standard operating mode just won't allow such a thing and I feel that the primary investigative results are pointing towards human/manual error, which is why we have seen the immediate closure of SAW: The Ride. What I find most interesting is the sudden closure of other multi-train coasters across Merlin operated parks, which leads me to believe that the HSE have lost enough confidence in the ability of Merlin to operate those coaster types to implement a temporary prohibition of operation. What makes this incident so awful is that Merlin is the worlds second largest operator of attractions - an operator like that should not be closing attractions due to an accident of this type.

The media hysteria and circus has been awful to watch from an enthusiast point of view and Alton, and now Merlin as all their parks are being progressively dragged into it, have to be extremely careful how they go forward from this. Whilst it's terrible to see such negative and sometimes badly researched reports on the news, many quite rightfully discuss previous issued with The Smiler and question the safety record of it. No report every looks positive for the resort when they discuss the train previously stalling in exactly the same place and the public will quite rightfully question the resorts decision not to 'fix it.' The resort itself has handled the situation amazingly well and they deserve absolute credit in that respect, each and every social media interaction has been positive and it seems the tide of hate towards them has finally ebbed away. It'll be interesting to see how they regain control of the situation once the dust has settled and they're operating next week.

I've been asked over and over if I believe they'll keep the attraction and I struggle each time. The Smiler ceased to exist at 14:09 on Tuesday, and I firmly think the resort will remove that branding entirely to save face. The public won't accept a retheme, and a reprofile is most likely out of the question. The ride will always be 'the one that nearly killed people' or 'the death coaster' which leaves the resort with a difficult choice - abandon their £18 million attraction and admit defeat, or push on and hope the public are as forgiving as they seem to be online.

Merlin clearly have some very important lessons to learn, and quickly.

Not everything can be foreseen and prevented form happening and sometimes it takes an accident to highlight problems and learn lesions from them and Merlin are just quickly implementing new measures from them lessons. Lessons are always learned from accidents like this and will make Merlin and perhaps the whole industry safer. It is sad to see it's taken 4 people to be seriously injured but at least 100s of people haven't seen killed like in plane crashes which reveal defects with the plane or procedures.

[TheBeast]

My attitude is this- if a ride has too much safety on it, it becomes not scary and just too cushy. Rollercoasters are supposed to be big and scary, we dont need to have HS shoved down our throats. This incident was one of one at Alton Towers. Millions of carriages are sent around those tracks every year. How many people have been injured? 4. How many people have ridden any ride at Alton Towers? Its got to be in the tens of millions, if not hundreds

Im not saying HS is unnecessary and irrelevant, because I will openly acknowledge that. However, there is a limit to how much can really be done, and coincidence will always reign supreme over reason and logic. No matter how many levels of safety are put in place, there will always be another instance

I dont think Alton have such a terrible track record really. I think thats why this should be seen as an isolated incident not a chain of problematic rollercoasters.

Hate coming in 3, 2, 1...

[Aidan Lowe]

Everything in life is flawed to an extent, flaws create problems which are troubleshooted & solved. Humanity learns & thrives from new found knowledge moving forward.

Its unfortunate it has happened but the industry as a whole I feel will benefit from this in the future.

Alton Towers accident record is low, and this is what infuriates me about how the media is handling it.

[Jammydodger]

I'm really surprised the media haven't picked on Gerstlauer yet. I would have thought they would have swooped right in on the death at Six Flags a few years ago, at least that would take some pressure off of Merlin. That said, its admirable that Merlin haven't tried to play the blame game here, it would have been so easy to slip in something like "well the ride was fully tested" or "we have a valid ADIPs license", but they haven't tried to share the blame at all.

Also, not exactly relevant, but I found it to be an interesting read, The HSE's guidelines on operating ride hardware: http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/hsg175.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[tgm999]

I'm really surprised the media haven't picked on Gerstlauer yet.

I am too and I'm surprised they haven't said anything about the 2 or 3 other Gerstlauer euro-fighters which are operating in the country other then saw.

Also, not exactly relevant, but I found it to be an interesting read, The HSE's guidelines on operating ride hardware: http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/hsg175.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Couldn't you just quote some of the more interesting bits I'm not sure I could survive reading a 93 page document from the HSE. :bored:

[Morgano]

Whilst the Sky interviewer was rude and unprofessional the questions asked were fair.
Clearly Merlin are under the impression that procedures weren't followed or a particularly procedure followed under x condition (valleys car) failed.

Staff training and technical upgrades were mentioned and Merlins reaction to close rides and talk about procedural changes and training suggest human error was almost certainly the contributing factor.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Smiffy107]

I really hope and wish Alton will bounce back from this, again I too am surprised the media have not aimed their reports at the six flags incident in texas a few years ago or at the coaster manufacturers themselves, really does baffle me how the media can be so harsh and unrelenting to people such as the CEO (Sky news are horrible), I take this view on it: These are dark times, there is no denying. Our community has perhaps faced no greater tragedy than it has earlier this week, we will remain strong together in the face of this sadness, I for one will support AT no matter what happens, it could not have been foreseen (despite previous evidence that the ride has in fact stalled in that section before), and nobody is superman, the park has done their utmost in PR relations ESPECIALLY through Twitter to answer all queries put to them, even when the answer is obvious about the park being re-opened soon. They have gained more respect from me than ever before.

I also think a rebranding would not satisfy the GP.

[Evostance]

I'm going to buck the trend a little here and say that whilst I've always disliked her and her general interview techniques, she does raise a valid and fair point that Nick failed to successfully and honestly answer - If such dramatic and immediate changes are required across the Merlin portfolio of attractions, were they either knowingly or unknowingly operating unsafe rides? The answer for me is quite possibly. The HSE seem to believe so, or have at the very least raised an issue in confidence of their operational standards and risk to the public and Merlin have reacted appropriately.

Having worked in the service industry for most of my career, when there is a major incident, additional measures are always put into place. Be it new policies, or just additional monitoring.

This is no different. Merlin has had a major incident, and want to reduce any potential risk of another issue elsewhere by adding additional processes. This doesn't mean that the previous process was inadequate.

Perhaps going to the extreme here, but let me use 9/11 as an example. For years, airport security operated fine. When 9/11 happened, additional security measures were immediately put in place, and over time they were relaxed.
My issues with the Sky News 'interview' is that they claim that the previous measures were inadequate, however no matter how tight the security, or how rigid the processes, if they are breached, people will always question if they're inadequate.

[Screech]

That interview really got my bloody boiling!

Just got home from work and heard the 1am news on the way... They're now saying the Alton towers boss has admitted the safety of their rides are not adequate!... Seriously?!!!!!!!! :@

[Altonaction]

I visit towers yearly and like my son with love the place and are gutted about whats happenend.My regards go out to the injured it must of been scary as hell!

I couple of things have been bugging me.....

The test car that never made the loop and ended up sat on the track for around 10 mins without anyone spotting it is strange.For instance the flume station manned office has loads of cctv showing all the boats going around to make sure they dont get stuck or too close and bump into each other.How else will u know if it has done a test circuit or not if u cant see all the track via cctv in the office?

With all similar coasters where theres more than 1 car on the track at the same time,it has the possibility to bump into another car on the track as we found out with the smiler.
Where was the thought beforehand when the ride was designed about fitting safety bumpers to the cars just in case that might happen?
I think if they had these the damage would of been not as bad.


Just too add that out of all the corporations where accidents happen merlin/towers will treat those involved the best and like varney said they wont want for anything!

[xxbennxx]

Block systems are designed in such a way that in theory, it is impossible to allow 2 trains into the same block at the same time. Therefore eliminating the possibility of such a crash.

There will be no scenario that the system allows this to happen, it is designed in such a way that in any faulty circumstance, the ride is locked down.

As this system has worked so well, for so long, all over the world. Cars are not designed with high speed collision in mind, as there is no scenario in which 2 cars should be allowed to enter the same section of track.

The only way around these safety systems is manually. As anything else, including a catastrophic systems failure, would simply result in a complete lockdown, which would halt the full cart on the first lift. Which did indeed happen for at least 10 minutes.

After that time, in which the system was clearly working perfectly. Something extraodinary has occured. Somehow the safety system which was working perfectly has been circumvented and the train allowed to traverse the lift hill and enter an occupied block.

Every scenario in my mind brings this down to some form of human error. Although i must stress that it is pure speculation, and should be taken as such. But my two cents on this terrible incident is simply human error.

I would like to extend my thoughts to the people who have suffered ad a result of this once again. I have ridden the smiler several times and have enjoyed it immensely. Unfortunately the people on tuesday do not share our experience of the ride. I wish all a speedy recovery, both physically and mentally, legs may heal but mental scars take much more work and patience to come to terms with.

[Smiffy107]

Just seen this on google, only sharing this meme as it's a comparison plenty of people have made since the incident, I don't mean to cause any offence with this meme. I just thought I would share it seeing as the whole media approach towards it has been insane!

https://imgflip.com/i/mikum

[ricardobugsy]

My heart goes out to the victims and their families following this very sad event.

I know it is probably wrong of me to guess as to what went wrong, but what happens when the rides computer system suffers a glitch, is reset or restarted?

Could the block brake settings have been lost/initialized on restart fooling the system
into thinking that it was all clear to proceed as normal?

[cl402]

I think I agree with several others when I say the Sky interview was terrible. But I am not keen on bringing Ofcom in to regulate against interviewer incompetence. Anyone who watches that interview is able to make up their own mind and is highly likely to see the same thing we do so we don't need regulation, etc. to enforce that. Many, like me, are probably disappointed that we didn't find out what the "additional layer" actually was.

I am, however, concerned that the interviewer implied that taking additional precautions was an admission of guilt. If this type of interviewing was around a few decades ago I wonder whether any car manufacturers would dare introduce the seatbelt or airbag as it would be an admission of guilt that the older cars were not as safe (especially against an interviewer who was laughing so much at the devastation). We must not discourage people from taking the safe course of action.

[NemesisRider]

Whilst a rebranding would disassociate The Smiler with the accident, I think the media would absolutely jump on it. The PR on that could be almost as bad as it is now.

I think they would get minimal PR damage if they reopened the ride next year with the rest of the rides or for fireworks this year. With this they could keep speculation to why the ride is shut too a minimum and without too much of a media report.

I hope the people are recovering well too.