June 9, 201510 yr comment_210964 I've heard that the only change thats happening at chessington is the operators are getting a little more training and refreshes just to make try and absolutely minimise these freak events. As for the vampire thing, you're wrong Ian. The second train can, and is (witnessed on saturday and on monday) sent when the first simply clears the second lift hill. At the start of the season they did have to wait until it reached the station blocks but they are running it as you described it should be now.
June 9, 201510 yr Author comment_210965 Yup I should have said I hadn't been for a few weeks so it might have changed since I was last there, I stand corrected. I find it a little odd that they seem more focused on operational procedure that wasn't, we assume, to be at faut, instead of focusing on the evac/reset procedure which is where the problem seemed to occur.
June 9, 201510 yr comment_210972 Basiclly, rides that have systems in place to be in manual will have more stringent restrictions. Engineers will not be able to leave rides in manual, I suspect they'll be a whole load of paper work and signing over during any kind of shut down/adding a train. The roller coaster stopped on the lift, and we know that. It obviously knew the car in front hadn't cleared the block. The point here is how 'someone' was able to jog the train forward, and not being aware of the stalled train. This is human error, simple as that. I know it's a bad error, however whether Merlin put their hands up, or blame the ride is yet to be seen.
June 9, 201510 yr comment_210977 This is human error, simple as that. I know it's a bad error, however whether Merlin put their hands up, or blame the ride is yet to be seen. Haven't they already taken the full blame? I already just assumed that meant it was human error and they know it was their fault
June 9, 201510 yr comment_210978 For now... But they could of course blame Gerst later on for creating a ride system that could be so easily overrided. The whole "we take full blame" thing is likely just for PR purposes and to get the victim's claims delt with. If they feel that they have a strong case against Gerstlauer, then they could get all the money lost back in a swift law suit.
June 9, 201510 yr comment_210981 I read the statement to mean they took full responsibility for those that are injured and not that they accept responsibility for the incident. These letters were all hand-delivered by Alton Towers representatives. Irrespective of the outcome of the current investigations into the causes of the accident, in these letters we have accepted full responsibility to those who had been injured in the accident and confirmed that we will ensure that compensation will be provided to them.
June 9, 201510 yr comment_210988 The roller coaster stopped on the lift, and we know that. It obviously knew the car in front hadn't cleared the block. The point here is how 'someone' was able to jog the train forward, and not being aware of the stalled train. This is human error, simple as that. I know it's a bad error, however whether Merlin put their hands up, or blame the ride is yet to be seen. Yes we know the train stopped on the lifthill, and sometime later went on its way to the inevitable collision. But we don't know the 'whys'. Was it because of the stall it stopped initially, or did something else cause the stop? Could this something else have masked the stall to either the computer or the staff? Did staff actually make an action that caused the restart or did the computer simply malfunction? Was correct procedure actually followed but a flaw in the design of the software or procedure manual caused the ride to start unexpectedly? While you are very nearly certainty right, I think it's a bit early to simply declare it human error while the investigation continues and so little is publicly known.
June 10, 201510 yr comment_210998 Apparently One Direction have sent a video message to one of the girls injured. They have also offered her tickets to a concert of her choice and will meet her backstage. A nice gesture, but hasn't the poor girl suffered enough ;-)
June 10, 201510 yr comment_211003 I would say that engineering add a train, engineering leave ride in manual. The stalled train was just bad luck. With the train stopped before entering the block, someone has either noticed '****, it's still in manual' and over ridden something, or simply under panic, jogged the train forward. We know from various other, and serious ride faults that Towers can hide a lot of details, Enterprise and Thirteen have both had SERIOUS issues, and had been covered to save bad press (ditto for the Chessington fire). Whilst it's not uncommon (after all, who could blame them), I would like to hope they're also supporting the girl who was operating (and the engineer who had originally attended), rather than looking for someone to fire and take the fall. It's also worth pointing out that Oblivion has an alarm that is constant, and has to be silenced, that warns staff if the ride is/or is still, in manual mode. Seems like a function that all coasters should have.
June 10, 201510 yr comment_211006 Apparently One Direction have sent a video message to one of the girls injured. They have also offered her tickets to a concert of her choice and will meet her backstage. A nice gesture, but hasn't the poor girl suffered enough Like it.
June 10, 201510 yr comment_211007 I would like to hope they're also supporting the girl who was operating (and the engineer who had originally attended), rather than looking for someone to fire and take the fall. Dangerous to jump to defence or conclusion at this stage, unless you worded it incorrectly. I would hope the declared outcome is fair to those that deserve fairness.
June 10, 201510 yr comment_211009 http://www.standard.co.uk/business/markets/jim-armitage-honourable-merlin-gives-a-lesson-in-responsibility-after-smiler-crash-10308001.html
June 10, 201510 yr Author comment_211011 So Smiler is testing... Credit - Towerstreet Saw that too, the car has water people in it, I wonder whether it is genuine testing/training, or whether H&S are assessing the operaional procedures? You would think that when the ride re-opens, given how Merlin have acted so far, that they would only do it with the 'blessing' of the families, although reading the article above, it would seem one of those families isn't very reciprocal at the moment to their offers of help.
June 10, 201510 yr comment_211013 My interest lies in the possibility of a re-brand. We've seen the Towers logo loose all it's Smiler influence, and return to the classic AT logo, and we've seen the merch has been swapped out too. I'm sure this is only as things are 'fresh' in the minds of all, but what are the chances?
June 10, 201510 yr Author comment_211014 Yesh that's probably just a damage limitation exercise at present. Has it caused a merchandise vacuum though? Is Smiler/big6 stuff turning up on eBay at vastly inflated prices?
June 10, 201510 yr comment_211015 http://www.standard.co.uk/business/markets/jim-armitage-honourable-merlin-gives-a-lesson-in-responsibility-after-smiler-crash-10308001.html Nice to see some of the press actually picking up on how well Merlin have dealt with this. Yes, it should never have happened but Merlin could very easily have started blaming Gerst or refusing to speak as the investigation is on going. Varney looked genuinely upset because he probably was. Merlin have put those injured first and dealing with them, making sure they get the compensation and care they deserve should and is the forefront, even with an ongoing investigation that COULD (note that word) put the blame somewhere else. Rebrand I see unlikely. It makes sense to remove Smiler from the logo and park if they know it's going to be closed a long time. Let's say it had a huge technical issue and they knew it was going to be closed for a few months they probably would remove its influence from branding. Okay, merch might not be removed but selling that at the moment might come across insensitive. I can't see Smiler being rethemed. It's such an influential ride because of its theme,it's so unique and creepy. Retheming it is likely to make it lose what it has, plus, the public won't be fooled by a retheme that much. It'll always be that ride that crashed if it''s called Smiler or Geoff. Retheming it might come off worse as people think Towers are trying to hide what happened. Leave it a while, fix the problem, test is massively to reassure the public and let the press blow over. Don't have a big fanfare when reopening it, just do it and it should be fine. People will still ride it.
June 10, 201510 yr comment_211017 http://m.burtonmail.co.uk/8203-Alton-Towers-Girl-leg-amputated-Smiler-crash/story-26670847-detail/story.html Good to hear that the recovery is going well!
June 10, 201510 yr comment_211027 I can't see Smiler being rethemed. It's such an influential ride because of its theme,it's so unique and creepy. Also (this is probably the main reason why it has its theme), Alton Towers have always been about "Making Britain Happy"...so I really can't see them losing this theme either. It always gives my spirits a lift too! The thought of the ride, its theme and the 'HA-HA-HA' melody just pops into my head...and I'm sure my heart starts to pick up the pace. The Smiler for me has always been a great memory, especially from my first time on it. And now that we're currently in a sticky situation that's yet to be resolved, I can only keep smiling, let the important things happen first and wait for the good times to return.
June 10, 201510 yr comment_211033 For anyone visiting Towers. http://www.altontowers.com/FAQ Alton Towers Theme Park has now re-opened. A small number of rides are temporarily closed (Oblivion, Enterprise and Sonic Spinball). The Smiler will remain closed for the foreseeable future. Nemesis Sub-Terra is currently closed for a design update. Tickets dated 10/06/15 or 11/06/2015 will also be accepted today or tomorrow at Warwick Castle, Thorpe Park, Chessington or LEGOLAND Windsor. Please check this page closer to the time for any tickets after these dates. So as well as giving out free tickets to people who go, if you have sun tickets you can visit the other places listed with them on the dates listed (basically until X-Sector reopens which as you can tell they have no idea how long that'll be). Oh, and Smiler's testing earlier... Fromt TowersStreet FB
June 10, 201510 yr comment_211034 I don't think this has been linked before http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/jun/10/kay-burley-interview-with-alton-towers-chief-gets-more-than-1100-complaints
June 10, 201510 yr comment_211037 I was quite sickened by what some people where saying today while I was out, this one couple said they would of loved to of been on the smiler when it crashed because of the pay out they would get. It really makes me mad when people think like this. Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
June 10, 201510 yr comment_211038 Retheming it is likely to make it lose what it has, plus, the public won't be fooled by a retheme that much. It'll always be that ride that crashed if it''s called Smiler or Geoff. "You belong to Geoff."
June 10, 201510 yr comment_211039 See, other than the fact that the petition is to have Kay Burley sacked, and that there is now being an investigation (confirmed to me on email as one of the people who have signed the petition) you'd almost think the papers had bucked their ideas up
June 10, 201510 yr Author comment_211041 OFCOM are not investigating at the moment, they are assessing the situation, which is technical speak for we are waiting for the twenty day window to close before deciding what to do.
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