Alton Towers Discussion Thread

[Paradox]

If they had this problem before the ride even opened why didn't they take initiative then?

 

I really hope this does not hurt Gerstlauer's reputation too much or delay Kärnan in any way.

[DJeXeL]

If they had this problem before the ride even opened why didn't they take initiative then?

 

I really hope this does not hurt Gerstlauer's reputation too much or delay Kärnan in any way.

 

What problem?

[Imiha]

Valleying I guess, but there really isn't much to do about that. Could be wind, some say it was pretty windy today, but valleying isn't the big problem. Big problem is why the train was not stoped while the next section was occupied.

[DoinItForTheFame]

Wow. I'm very surprised that this accident could even happen. I am with those who are guessing that the coaster was in "manual mode" when this happened. Having operated several major coasters this is the only thing I see possible. However, I look forward to hearing what actually caused this once the investigation is complete.

 

My thoughts are with those injured in the accident and hopefully they will have a speedy recovery.

[KarlaKoaster]

BBC News report on TV has just said that some of the injuries are described as life changing.

[ernierocker]

^It appears the serious injuries were crush injuries to the legs of the all four passengers in the front seat. Those type of injuries can unfortunately lead to amputations. Hoping for the best for those injured.

[StealthFan]

BBC News report on TV has just said that some of the injuries are described as life changing.

 

Too look at this in a positive light its better that its life changing rather that life threatening.

[KarlaKoaster]

Too look at this in a positive light its better that its life changing rather that life threatening.

Yes of course, I only mentioned it because it was quite a specific detail relating to their injuries but I totally agree with you.

 

Also ernierocker that was my first thought too

[cfc]

^It appears the serious injuries were crush injuries to the legs of the all four passengers in the front seat. Those type of injuries can unfortunately lead to amputations. Hoping for the best for those injured.

 

Based on some photos of the train, this isn't too surprising. Very sad, indeed.

[Locostitch]

It is very sad that this happened as multiple things had to have gone wrong to get to the point where it collides. What is crazy about the crash is that the train that had just came out of the first part of the cobra roll and was at full speed when it hit the stalled train. Seeing that this section of the track has been trouble before the worst thing I could see happening to the smiler is that they replace the cobra roll with an over banked turn of some type. I see that with the history of the ride the park will have to do something with it and an overhaul of the computer system will not be enough to make GP comfortable with the ride. With the history of crashes like california screamin and such physical changes have been made to the rides which comfort the GP into making them think that the ride is safe once again. I think the likely outcome will be an overbanked turn replacing the cobra roll to prevent the train from not going all the way through the course.

Edited June 2, 2015 by Locostitch

[SharkTums]

You just don't expect an accident like this at a REAL park and a REAL ride. Truly scary. I hope they find out exactly what led to this quickly. Trying to avoid speculation as I really want to believe that if the ride was in normal operating mode this couldn't have happened which leads me to think it was in manual but we'll have to wait and see.

[colinanddi]

In Australia we received this detailed press report here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3107569/Two-carriages-Alton-Towers-Smiler-rollercoaster-collide-16-people-board.html which includes previous history of ride.

[KingRCT3]

^ The train stopped at the top of the loop? Yeah sure. "Witnesses"...

[thrillrider]

Looks like the story is going to air on ABC news in a few min.

[baileybrucem]

Looks like the story is going to air on ABC news in a few min.

 

CNN already has it on their website

[Jew]

Smiler being removed is not in the cards I don't think. Worse things have happened on coasters and they have remained operational.

 

If anything they will just sue Gerstlauer, their insurance will pay out the victims, their premium goes up a bit, and they walk away with a discount on their new ride.

 

I'm not going to speculate on how it happened, but it's scary to think this is even possible...

[DJeXeL]

I'm not going to speculate on how it happened, but it's scary to think this is even possible...

 

Couldn't agree more.

[Heth]

I've seen a lot of people decry this as meaning the ride is inherently unsafe. I don't think this is the case. However, it's been clear for so long that this ride has had issues.

 

I feel that maybe the ride should have spent longer with testing and properly correcting these serious electrical/braking/blocking issues and securing the construction well before opening. If anything maybe the ride should have been delayed to opening in 2014, taking 2013 to properly fix the issues, as it always felt rushed to open. The things that happened today happened in 2013, so this isn't just a freak occurrence.

Edited June 2, 2015 by Heth

[thrillrider]

Looks like the story is going to air on ABC news in a few min.

 

CNN already has it on their website

 

 

At least ABC mentioned haw safe coasters are, and that this type of thing only happens in 1 out of 24 million times.They are saying that the park remains closed until they find out the cause.

 

If this was fox news or a cnn story, they would be all over how dangerous the rides are.

[TopThrill182]

Most trains have "bumpers" in the front and / or back correct? I'm guessing those aren't designed to absorb this kind of high speed collision? It looks like the train with passengers deformed upon impact.

 

My thoughts are with those in the front row who sound to be most severely injured. Hopefully their injuries turn out to be less severe than some are speculating.

 

While this incident is no doubt tragic (and scary), the fact that this kind of collision happens so rarely speaks well to the reliability of block systems on most coasters. Hopefully the cause of this incident can be determined quickly to prevent something like this from happening again.

[Xcoaster]

^I'm not sure I totally understand the reasoning behind that, other than maybe they just don't want a lot of "lookyloos".

After my first hand experience of nearly getting kicked out of Chessington for taking a photo of a closed ride, I'd guess that Merlin is very wary of having any media in the park.

[AllenA07]

The scary part of this isn't that there was an accident, but it was an an accident that shouldn't have been possible.

[Jew]

Most trains have "bumpers" in the front and / or back correct? I'm guessing those aren't designed to absorb this kind of high speed collision? It looks like the train with passengers deformed upon impact.

 

Correct.

[nswain1110]

The scary part of this isn't that there was an accident, but it was an an accident that shouldn't have been possible.

 

Exactly - kinda shakes up the faith we put into safety measures, that nothings going to go wrong. Hope all the injured are OK.

[Superbatboy]

My heart goes out to those four passengers with 'crush injuries'