The Smiler Incident 02/06/2015

[SteveJ]

"Remember this was built on the old Black Hole site, so they obviously can't pull off anything spectacular in that space!"

I think the fact they put anything quite so lengthy and bold in that relatively small space is spectacular in itself. But also very impractical, hence the world's most claustraphobic & depressing queue, the excessive concrete construction that will be a maintenance nightmare, the fact it all the infrastructure looks like it isnn't engineered to last as long as it should into the future.

If they hadn't pushed so hard to get 14 loops then the whole thing would be a much simpler, more effective design. But given the silly brief that it HAD to break the record in that tiny space (purely for PR purposes, as has been pointed out the number of loops adds very little to the ride experience itself), whoever did the layout did a great job considering.

[Benin]

You can only wonder how things might have differed if the person in charge of the ground survey hadn't royally messed it up so much that we needed the ride to sit on a sea of concrete...

 

Plus the queueline layout changed from the original plans... Not that it would've improved matters, the claustrophobia comes mostly from the whole thing being enclosed by fencing...

[JoshuaA]

There's no point in complaining about the layout really. Remember this was built on the old Black Hole site, so they obviously can't pull off anything spectacular in that space!

TBH I would of preferred a smaller ride/coaster.

I do like Smiler,(mainly for its theme and the airtime(ish) hills).

And they did pull of something spectacular in that space!

Its just  that  the Smiler's Inversions aren't all that memorable IMO, also being a little on the rough side..

Also there is so much inversions to be put into a rollercoaster before it comes tedious and unfun..

[holtjammy16]

TBH I think The Smiler is great except from its awful layout..

Boring inversion,after boring inversion. I could argue Blue Fire's Horshoe Roll is better than Smiler's 14 inversions put together..

 

You could literally say that about any of the coasters that invert in both Alton & Thorpe, I think the Smiler's layout is actually one of the most interesting, I mean we at least get 2 bunny hops (and pretty much all the inversions in any of the parks) all in 1 ride!

 

+ the ride length is great, the only downside is the awful queue imo

[JoshuaA]

You could literally say that about any of the coasters that invert in both Alton & Thorpe, I think the Smiler's layout is actually one of the most interesting, I mean we at least get 2 bunny hops (and pretty much all the inversions in any of the parks) all in 1 ride!

 

+ the ride length is great, the only downside is the awful queue imo

But  for me unlike Smiler for those rides bar Colossus there are actually OTHER things than Inversions to them.

Even Colossus has that crazy bunny hop which IMO 10x better than Smiler's bunny hops.

Also The Smiler IMO has just no force to it, and you can't really say its that smooth either..

I like Smiler, I'm glad its opening again. But I wouldn't say its the UK's best.

[Coaster]

The Smiler's layout is very well designed for the space they had IMO, although it would have been better with 12 inversions and two different non-inverting elements.

[EC!]

But  for me unlike Smiler for those rides bar Colossus there are actually OTHER things than Inversions to them.

Even Colossus has that crazy bunny hop which IMO 10x better than Smiler's bunny hops.

Also The Smiler IMO has just no force to it, and you can't really say its that smooth either..

I like Smiler, I'm glad its opening again. But I wouldn't say its the UK's best.

There is literally no force or airtime in that hill what so ever and I think quite a lot will agree with that!! Smiler's are much much better!

[MattyMoo]

That's what happens when you hire in crap construction companies to build it...

 

Probably set the scene for the rest of the ride tbh...

 

The track was installed by B&E Erectors. The same guys who are working on WC16. 

 

Groundwork was by TG Cruse - who were involved with SAW, Swarm and Thirteen also. I know from dealing with TG Cruse, they are anything but crap - quite the opposite - as with regards to drainage, as I understand it, that issue was pointed out during construction to Merlin.

[Coaster]

The worker operating The Smiler ride at Alton Towers which crashed seriously injuring four people has reportedly been sacked.

Theme park operators Merlin this week said "human error" was to blame for the horrific smash in which two young women lost legs.

In total 16 people were hurt on the roller coaster when the carriage they were in collided with another which had come to a halt on the track.

The Sunday People reporter Phil Cardy says the employee - believed to be a girl in her late teens or early 20s - has now been dismissed.

A source revealed: “It was a young girl operating the ride, maybe around 19 or 20 years old. After the accident she was allowed to keep working there while the investigation took place.

“But she’s been dismissed now.”

Details of the decision come days after an Alton Towers investigation set out the reasons for the accident involving the ride, which will reopen next year .

A statement said: “The investigation concluded that the incident was the result of human error culminating in the manual override of the ride safety control system, without the appropriate protocols being followed.

“The investigation also identified areas where protocols and the training of employees should be improved. There were found to be no technical or mechanical problems with the ride itself.

“We are confident that lessons have been learned and that appropriate action has been taken to address the issues raised by our investigation and we believe our core conclusions will be in line with the HSE findings.”

Alton Towers refused to comment on the sacking claim, saying only they had “taken the appropriate action” and any decisions taken against staff was a “private matter”.

They said they had followed “standard HR procedures and taken the appropriate action” when dealing with the staff whose errors caused the crash.

A spokesman said: “The outcome of this however remains a private matter between us and any individual concerned.”

Four people sitting on the front row of the Smiler suffered horrific injuries in the accident.

Vicky Balch, 20, from Lancashire, had six rounds of surgery in a bid to save her leg before needing an amputation.

Leah Washington, 17, from Barnsley, also had one of her legs amputated while her 18-year-old boyfriend Joe Pugh shattered his knees.

Daniel Thorpe, 27, from Buxton, Derbyshire, was treated for a collapsed lung and lower leg injuries.

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/alton-towers-sack-smiler-operator-10519880

 

I think Merlin/Alton are partly to blame here for allowing people to operate rides who are inexperienced or haven't been trained enough, but obviously without knowing the details it's hard to judge exactly what happened.

[SteveJ]

How can you be inexperienced in pressing buttons and communicating? Most operators are 18+

That's not a fair way to look at it. It is impossible and unfair to make any judgement based off some vague details about the operator. Also, it should have been impossible for anyone to override anything in any situation, like most rollercoasters. I think the situation is still more complicated than this 'news' makes out.

[Ian-S]

Back in the good old days that was exactly how it worked, if a person hadn't been trained properly on a machine and they had or caused an accident, then the employer was liable, it seems a bit different nowadays though.

I find it intriguing the information that has been released, they appear to be saying a young and inexperienced ride op was able to reset the ride manually, yet from all accounts the general concenous here is a ride op cannot do that and it needs a member of the engineering team to do the reset, so who's telling the truth? Earlier in the year I was corrected over who I saw reset the Swarm at Thorpe (I thought it was the ride ops) and when I went back I saw the guy again and asked him if he was engineering and he said yes, so I know we're talking about a red top here, but stuff isn't adding up for me.

[Coaster]

 

How can you be inexperienced in pressing buttons and communicating? Most operators are 18+

I have spoken to ride operators (not at Alton, but still relevant) and they say that it requires a lot of training and time to get to grips with the ride systems, so it's possible that the worker hadn't had the appropriate training/experience in operating rides, but obviously the only people that know whether that was the case are the worker in question and Alton.

 

That's not a fair way to look at it. It is impossible and unfair to make any judgement based off some vague details about the operator. Also, it should have been impossible for anyone to override anything in any situation, like most rollercoasters. I think the situation is still more complicated than this 'news' makes out.

It wasn't a judgement, but it does seem strange if the human error story is to be believed - surely anyone with the relevant training would have known not to override a system when there are less trains in the station than were sent out?  This is only going by what has been published in the news though, which could be inaccurate.

[SteveJ]

There is no function for a ride operator to override anything though, that is what doesn't add up. Engineers have further access to the ride's functions than operators do, but even on Manual mode most coasters wouldn't allow an override of a basic block shutdown.

[Coaster]

There is no function for a ride operator to override anything though, that is what doesn't add up. Engineers have further access to the ride's functions than operators do, but even on Manual mode most coasters wouldn't allow an override of a basic block shutdown.

Not having an override function seems sensible to me, but surely that means that the cause of the crash was more complex than someone overriding the system which is what Alton have said?

[SteveJ]

Yes, that is what I was saying in my initial post.

I think they just simplified the truth in order to emphasise that "the ride is safe enough to reopen" and not explain why the event actually happened. Which is fair enough.

[Benin]

Wonder if the paper realises that technically everyone gets released at the end of the year if they're on a seasonal contract (I.e. most ride ops)...

 

If the ride was broken down (it was), and in manual mode (arguable), then the ride op would not be in control, it would be the engineer...

 

Smiler probably has at least 24 hours worth of training before an operator is let loose on the controls by themselves (based off the old Vampire/Fury hours, it could be different at Towers), dunno what else you can do in 24 hours odd of training and operating...

 

Some rides have easier to access manual modes than others, I doubt any coaster does though due to the nature of things...

[Ian-S]

Glad I'm no the only one not seeing the wood for the trees.

[pognoi]

Just going to throw it out there and stress that to suggest someone is too inexperienced to operate a ride is fairly ludicrous. As Benin said, training on rides is a fairly lengthy process and involves a lot of overseeing, shadowing, theory and practise before you're even allowed to independently touch the controls. Even then, if you're not comfortable you're allowed as much time as you need/want to get comfortable with a ride before being tested as a position on the ride... Even then if your tester doesn't feel you've got the grips well enough you'll be asked to re train, and once you do pass you're checked upon regularly to make sure you know what you're doing and you're happy doing it.

 

Being inexperienced is pretty much out of the question, as well as the fact as normally operators don't even have access to over-riding equipment (as already said).

[Coaster]

Just going to throw it out there and stress that to suggest someone is too inexperienced to operate a ride is fairly ludicrous. As Benin said, training on rides is a fairly lengthy process and involves a lot of overseeing, shadowing, theory and practise before you're even allowed to independently touch the controls. Even then, if you're not comfortable you're allowed as much time as you need/want to get comfortable with a ride before being tested as a position on the ride... Even then if your tester doesn't feel you've got the grips well enough you'll be asked to re train, and once you do pass you're checked upon regularly to make sure you know what you're doing and you're happy doing it.

 

Being inexperienced is pretty much out of the question, as well as the fact as normally operators don't even have access to over-riding equipment (as already said).

Of course, it is completely ludicrous but it has happened before at theme parks - staff not checking the restraints on Hydro at Oakwood for example which led to a tragedy.  Whilst the situations are completely different, that shows that staff not operating rides correctly does happen, but thankfully it is very rare.

 

It does beg the question though, if the incident on The Smiler wasn't caused by someone overriding the system, what did cause it?

[HermanTheGerman]

Umm, the blocking system was overridden, just not necessarily by that young girl.

[Mark9]

Of course, it is completely ludicrous but it has happened before at theme parks - staff not checking the restraints on Hydro at Oakwood for example which led to a tragedy.  Whilst the situations are completely different, that shows that staff not operating rides correctly does happen, but thankfully it is very rare.

 

It does beg the question though, if the incident on The Smiler wasn't caused by someone overriding the system, what did cause it?

 

We know what caused the crash. Everything else is just fanciful clickbait from news websites. Somewhere in-between the stories and glamour is the truth but I don't think I want to know it. 

[Ryan]

"The owner of Alton Towers us to be prosecuted over The Smiler rollercoaster accident" on Sky News.

[Tom]

And BBC!

[JoshC.]

Can someone with a better understanding of the legal system than me (ie: anyone who vaguely understands the system) spell out what this could mean for Merlin as a company, and / or any affects this could potentially have on the operations of Towers / other Merlin parks?

[MattyMoo]

Surely they were always going to be prosecuted because of the findings from the reports? There's no one else to blame other than Alton Towers and their procedures and/or the ride operator(s) at the time? Gerst can't be responsible for the procedures regarding a blocking system being over-ridden by ride-ops. If Merlin did not have the correct training/procedures in place, then - that's where the buck stops?

 

EDIT to say - are we to assume from this headline that the operator who performed the over-ride is negated of all responsibility? That's what it would imply to me?