The Smiler Incident 02/06/15

[Alex Tyler]

The yellow handrails were put in on the final brake run 14/15 closed season, more were added to the 2nd lift after the crash.

[Mermalizer]

I heard someone say the screens are now back to their regular quality - is this true?

[owenrita121]

I heard someone say the screens are now back to their regular quality - is this true?

Yep all back to normal now, it looks amazing! I could watch them screens for ages, they make me laugh so much!

[Martin.C]

Thought I'd create a video of The Smiler a week after reopening on my visit on Saturday 26th March.

It shows most of the screens, effects and the half-way corrected screens and audio working properly (minus a couple of changes visible), as well as various shots of the ride in action, inside and outside.

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[Aidan Lowe]

Excellent video thanks for sharing. 60 FPS as well which gives it a nice fluidity.

[HalfwayCorrected]

Does anyone know whether Towers are having new announcements made for The Smiler because when it broke down on Sunday they were all done manually?


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[DeadJack5]

Watching that video posted by Martin.C, it seems that on the back of the rows head seats they have a message, i can't remember if they were there before the crash, the only thing i can remember is the optical pictures or the smiler logo.

Does anyone know what the message is?

[Justin]

Does anyone know whether Towers are having new announcements made for The Smiler because when it broke down on Sunday they were all done manually?


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I haven't heard them this season, but it could be to assure the GP that they are aware of an issue.

[Liam.W]

Watching that video posted by Martin.C, it seems that on the back of the rows head seats they have a message, i can't remember if they were there before the crash, the only thing i can remember is the optical pictures or the smiler logo.

Does anyone know what the message is?

They have removed all the illusion type things off the back of the seat and replaced them with your typical safety stickers ('keep all arms and legs inside the car at all times' sort of stuff)

[Sentri558]

They've pleaded guilty in court.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-36111412" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Curtis123]

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/al ... es-7805130" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Live updates... some interesting Comments from H&S

[abigsmurf]

So if I'm to understand from the statements, the computer system logs that there is a stopped car but this is never shown on the control panel?

That's a terribly designed safety system if so. If it can detect that, it should be showing it to the ride operators, that bit's got to be on the manufacturers.

Seems Merlin had no process to make verify mystery errors (presumably the engineer can access operation logs) so they were always going to be found liable.

[Roodie]

Pictures have now been released of the crashed train





Now I understand why they are very lucky.

[Curtis123]

That simply puts the whole incident and the extent of their injury's into reality! 8-[ They have uploaded a video the train removal now!

[abigsmurf]

Luckily the seat designs seem to make it near impossible for the bent front to completely shear off the legs which was good (very likely one of the victims would have died of bloodloss).

If the sides of the seats stuck out another inch or two, it probably would have prevented legs being completely crushed and needing amputation. Very unlikely to have been a scenario to consider for the vehicle designers though.

[Owen]

The ride operators would be able to see the train has stopped, or else they wouldn't know to restart it. Not to mention that the train waiting inside the station would not be able to dispatch. I personally feel The Smiler's safety system is one of the most extensive there is.

On another note I'm glad that the incident is almost over, and that the Resort have taken the responsibility - I respect that greatly. I hope that those who were hospitalised are now getting back to a sense of normality and I also hope that the resort can recover from this, as The Smiler is truely a stunning attraction. I wish luck both to those injured and to the resorts future success.

[Sawboss]

Hoping the case goes smoothly, it provides some closure for the victims and marks an end for the resort to move on as well.

[Tryst]

The ride operators would be able to see the train has stopped, or else they wouldn't know to restart it. Not to mention that the train waiting inside the station would not be able to dispatch. I personally feel The Smiler's safety system is one of the most extensive there is.

Until the HSE publish their report, this is mere speculation. You are making some assumptions about how the protection system senses the position of trains and the level of authority that technical services has over the protection system. The only new information is that someone in the employ of Alton Towers overrode the protection system after it had tripped (due to the stalled train) and that adequate processes were not in place to manage such an activity.

The feeling that I get is that overriding ride protection systems is very much an 'edge case' in engineering and is probably not something you should do with people on the ride. I am not an expert on functional safety, but my work is related to it and I get to look at the myriad of ways in which human actions can undermine the assumptions made by the original designers of a system. These are often work-arounds to (perceived?) equipment failures, are not subject to a thorough safety analysis and later result in an accident.

On another note I'm glad that the incident is almost over, and that the Resort have taken the responsibility - I respect that greatly. I hope that those who were hospitalised are now getting back to a sense of normality and I also hope that the resort can recover from this, as The Smiler is truely a stunning attraction. I wish luck both to those injured and to the resorts future success.

I expect that Alton Towers will face a significant fine. This is not the first time that they have had an accident of this type - two cars collided on the Alton Mouse many years ago under similar circumstances - and the HSE tends to punish organisations that do not learn from their mistakes much more severely.

With regards to getting back to normality... I very much doubt that will happen for those who were on the ride that day. Their lives have been forever altered by the incident, both phyiscally and emotionally - PTSD is almost certain. Even those on the ground who witnessed the accident will be haunted by what happened.

[Roodie]

"From the outset, the company has accepted responsibility for what happened in June last year and it has cooperated fully with the Health & Safety Executive in its investigation. We have sought to provide help and support to all those injured in the accident and will continue to do so."
Merlin Attractions Operations Ltd statement

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. If that is true then hopefully the media will let this incident rest and everyone can try and move on and rebuild their lives.

[Owen]

I believe it was confirmed that the incident was human error awhile ago, and I am confident (in a general sense not in a way where I believe it absolutely couldn't have been a systematic fault) that the system is safe after going on a tour of the ride, and finding out exactly how many measures there are to the rides safety system - and exactly how it works. In regards to you addressing the second part of my post - of course they will not return to exactly how they were, however I can be sympathetic to them and the resort if I feel that it is necessary, and wish them the best in future.

I hope that clears somethings up for you.