"Teething Problems"

It makes it sound like the passengers were either guinea pigs or that the accident was to be expected, shocking attitude.

The spokesman I heard was almost dismissive, and of course, no mention of any apologies as that would presumably be tantamount to admitting responsibility wouldn't it

One account I read said it was 11 minutes before the emergency services were called 'because the staff were assessing the situation'.......

Perhaps not saying sorry is something to do with insurance. Insurance companies get very angry with people saying sorry at accidents because it is regarded as an admission of liability. No doubt Alton Towers staff have been briefed about this and know to keep their mouths shut in every instance of an accident or difficulty. Nevertheless, "teething problems" was a massively insensitive remark to make as well as being completely ridiculous because no ride should be open to the public until all safety concerns have been checked and double-checked.

The empty car should not have been left out on the track. It seems that someone sent out empty cars to 'test' the ride was ok after some 'maintenance problem' which had shut the ride down for an hour or so.

If x cars went out on the track to test it, then x cars should have been counted back in before reopening the ride. The crashed car was the first out after this and, because there was an empty car still stranded on the track a crash resulted, allegedly.

Human error here I suspect. I wonder exactly who was manning this ride? My experience is that they are too often manned by young people, on minimum wages. I worked for Merlin Entertainment for a season after I retired, just for fun. Many staff were seasonal, students. I noticed that Alton Towers is still closed today to 'add another layer of safety' said a spokesman, while 'staff training' was also mentioned. Other rides are also closed at other Merlin owned attractions for, presumably more staff training.

PS The Smiler first opened in May 2013

I saw a spokesman for Merlin implying that it might be a fault of the ride and therefore the manufacturer. He reckoned that the other rides were closed because they were made by the same company and used the same systems. Looks like some blame shifting is coming in.

I thought Alton Towers was shut on the instructions of the Health and Safety Executive. Staff training etc is a blind to cover the fact that they sent people out on a ride that is only supposed to look dangerous not actually be dangerous.

Insensitive sounding or not, the two least reliable periods during the lifetime of any product are when it's worn out and when it's new.

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I agree vampirequeen

I wonder how those poor injured people are, it must have been a horrifically traumatic situation for the rescue teams too.

There was someone on the radio last night from Alton Towers complaining about how much the closures were costing them (£500,000 a day), totally insensitive and nothing compared to the cost to the injured

Exactly loopylou - the injuries to some of them were described as "life changing", and I think there must also be a risk of PTSD as they had to wait 4 hours to be safely taken out of the carriage and transported to hospital.

I feel sick thinking about it......
For the those not so badly injured it must have been a nightmare just hanging there.....