Accident at Alton Towers

[mouse]

Thanks for the information and welcome to the forums .

Sounds very plausible, this is the only picture that came up when searching for Harting 16BAKQB-01, not sure if its the one you mean or not:

And for comparison:

 

[MisterC]

Sounds very plausible, this is the only picture that came up when searching for Harting 16BAKQB-01, not sure if its the one you mean or not...

Thanks Mouse - yes thats the one, the other search would be an image search on 'HARTING 09300245422'

Anthony

 

[SilverArrow]

Third victim out of hospital.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-st ... e-33243629

Also this is a bit awkward (but unrelated apart from being called the "latest blow for AT" by the press):
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/al ... ve-5920735

 

[SilverArrow]

Apologies for the double post.

The other front row girl, Vicky has also had her leg amputated (above the knee).
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-st ... e-33296533

So sad. Was really hoping that we wouldn't hear this. Bad news for everyone involved.

 

[Smithy]

Ah that's a shame.

Another example of the lawyer drip feeding news into the media every couple of days though. Bloke's going to be minted.

 

[Rollercoaster David]

BBC site says it's below knee at least, which is significantly better than an above knee amputation. still its terrible to have such an injury, especialy when so young

 

[Jordanovichy]

Yeah I just saw this on Twitter. Absolutely awful. Really feel for the guys. More and more people are saying it'll be scrapped but I still just don't know.

 

[nemesis_guy]

Aww, just awful news to read tonight about Vicky Balch. Absolutely terrible news :cry:

Hopefully the investigation will conclude soon, almost coming up to a month so it would be nice to have a clearer view of what went wrong

 

[elephant58]

Although this is awful, let's expect a new load of reports of people saying 'tear it down', until next week when no one's talking about it.

 

[Martyn B]

^ You're spot on there!

 

[elephant58]

Wikipedia are saying that Merlin have confirmed a permanent closure. It's got to be complete rubbish, considering we haven't seen anything else suggesting that?

 

[mcg0ughchris]

Wikipedia is not a source mate, Anyone can edit it.

Although I'm still in the camp of thinking that they won't reopen it under the same name/theme/premise, business suicide. It'll reopen next season once they've had time to do the necessary alterations. We'll probably not see any Smiler activity until the off season now though.

 

[Ian]

I read this article earlier: http://www.parkworld-online.com/the-sto ... he-smiler/

Think about the big smiling face logo, the laughter in the soundtrack, and it's name. The more I read about the theme and what the coaster is supposed to do to you, the more I find it inappropriate.

Although there has been no official word regarding the ride's future, I think it would be a bad move to reopen it as it is. Alton Towers will not be able to shake of this accident for at least a year, and it would be even more difficult to rebrand it as it will appear they are brushing the accident under the carpet. Although personally I don't think they are trying to do so, we all know that's the way it will be reported by the sensationalist media outlets. They'll be huge interest when it reopens and will be analysed more so than it is now.

So reopening it as it is would be insensitive, and Merlin would want to avoid that. A rebrand could provoke an accusation of sugar coating. Leaving it SBNO keeps it in the mind of guests and the associated accident. That leaves one option - remove it.

 

[nealbie]

I think some within the coaster enthusiast world are massively overthinking it to be honest, yourself included Ian.

Opinions of colleagues and non coaster geek friends almost universally fall into, "What a horrible accident, but I hope the ride is back open soon, I really enjoyed it."

 

[Smithy]

Idk I think times have changed and so it's impossible to really compare this incident to any that have gone before it. I get the impression this one will stick, especially with the way the lawyers are pumping stories out every few days and the media are now reporting every little breakdown as if it's a major issue.

I really don't see them removing it purely because of the scale of the investment, the only feasible way I can see that occuring would be if they were able to claim a good chunk of it back from any of the contractors who were responsible for issues with the ride, or the manufacturer for the valleying issues but that's a long shot at best.

What's probably the best course of action would be a re-brand, but a low-key one so that it's literally just a plain coaster, and re-open it alongside a big investment elsewhere in the park that would take attention away from it. Then when it's open and running without incident, maybe add a bit more strength to the new branding?

 

[spicy]

Another option that they must be considering due to the size of the investment could be to move it to another Merlin park where the accident is unknown. Somewhere like Heide Park or Gardaland perhaps?

Was the accident widely reported outside the UK? Could even put it into storage for a while until the accident becomes forgotten about.

 

[Ian]

I think some within the coaster enthusiast world are massively overthinking it to be honest, yourself included Ian.

Yep, it's what we do. Just like a football supporter over analyses a game after a loss or win. I agree that the majority of people will forget about it by the time next season rolls around, but it will always have the accident stigma attached however it reopens. The media will be keen to jump on anything. Look at the way they dragged up the Hydro/Hayley Williams story shortly after the Smiler crash.

Was the accident widely reported outside the UK?

It was reported. I had media and video request from the USA, Germany and Italy. Although obviously not the extent it was in the UK.

 

[ems991]

How quickly have other UK attractions such as Hydro reopened to the public after incidents? I know obviously that the media has gone to town on the Smiler incident and as a result of that I wouldn't imagine they would reopen it even if they could this season. But I was just wondering how long other rides took to reopen, where perhaps the incident actually involved the death of a rider?

 

[nemesis_guy]

How quickly have other UK attractions such as Hydro reopened to the public after incidents? I know obviously that the media has gone to town on the Smiler incident and as a result of that I wouldn't imagine they would reopen it even if they could this season. But I was just wondering how long other rides took to reopen, where perhaps the incident actually involved the death of a rider?

IIRC it opened approx 1 year later with over the shoulder restraints as opposed to the T-style lapbars that were fitted when the incident occurred.

 

[cjbrandy]

How quickly have other UK attractions such as Hydro reopened to the public after incidents? I know obviously that the media has gone to town on the Smiler incident and as a result of that I wouldn't imagine they would reopen it even if they could this season. But I was just wondering how long other rides took to reopen, where perhaps the incident actually involved the death of a rider?

IIRC it opened approx 1 year later with over the shoulder restraints as opposed to the T-style lapbars that were fitted when the incident occurred.

I reckon possible modifications we could see on The Smiler if it reopens could include shock absorbing bumpers at the front and rear of the trains as well as restraint clips to act as a failsafe should the restraints unlock mid ride.