Alton Towers’ operator handed huge fine for Smiler crash
Stafford Crown Court heard Merlin was at fault for a rollercoaster smash, which left two teenagers needing leg amputations and other victims with serious injuries when the carriage they were travelling in smashed into an empty car.
CCTV footage of last summer’s crash was shown for the first time in court, where barrister Bernard Thorogood, prosecuting for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), said it equated to ‘a family car of 1.5 tons having collided at about 90mph’.
The court heard that on the day of the accident, June 2, 2015, engineers were unaware that a test train had got stuck. A computer shut-down message was thought to be wrong and a train with 16 passengers on was sent out, which crashed into the empty carriage.
Merlin had blamed human error for the accident, but~Mr Thorogood said the employers, not individuals, were to blame and engineers were not given guidance.
"The fault is with the defendant for not devising a scheme, for not guiding the work of the engineers," he said.
Fining Merlin £5 million, Judge Michael Chambers QC said the crash was a ‘catastrophic failure’.
"This was a needless and avoidable accident in which those who were injured were lucky not to be killed," he said.
The judge said the crash was foreseeable but accepted the defendant had taken full and extensive steps to remedy the problems that led to the crash.
Despite the fact that the manufacturer’s manual said the ride should not be operated at speeds above 34mph, on the day of the crash, there were estimated winds of 45mph.
The victims were also left for a ‘significant period of time’ at least 20ft above ground, waiting for medical attention, Mr Thorogood said.
He said engineers on the day had not read or seen the operating instructions for the ride. Since the crash, a number of safety changes have been made including improved access and a policy of closing the ride when winds exceed 35mph.
Lisa
Lisa joined Travel Weekly nearly 25 years ago as technology reporter and then sailed around the world for a couple of years as cruise correspondent, before becoming deputy editor. Now freelance, Lisa writes for various print and web publications, edits Corporate Traveller’s client magazine, Gateway, and works on the acclaimed Remembering Wildlife series of photography books, which raise awareness of nature’s most at-risk species and helps to fund their protection.
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