Engineering news
The Health and Safety Executive has launched a full investigation after a rollercoaster crash at Alton Towers left 16 people injured.
The accident happened on the £18 million rollercoaster the Smiler, as the carriage carrying passengers crashed into an empty cart that was sitting stationary on the track after a test run.
Nick Varney, chief executive of Merlin Entertainments which runs the Staffordshire attraction, said: "The Smiler is a relatively new ride, all rides have teething problems when they open. Guest safety on those sorts of incidents is not really a major issue in the sense that when you're on a rollercoaster car, the car can't come off the track and you are restrained in the seats.
"When you have a glitch and the ride stops, it's not really an issue of safety to the riders.
"What happened yesterday is something that there are other fail-safes for. There are other braking locks that should stop two cars being on the same track, but that didn't work the way it was supposed to."
Neil Craig, head of operations for HSE in the Midlands, said: “Our role is to establish the facts. We will want to determine that those responsible for operating this ride have done what the law requires. We will also ensure that if there are any lessons to be learned they are shared as soon as possible.
“Although the investigation is in its early stages, we will take action to protect the public if we uncover evidence that could affect the safety of other rides at the park or elsewhere.”
Rollercoaster expert Justin Garvanovic, who founded the European Coaster Club, described the crash as "unprecedented".
He said: "This sort of thing really doesn't happen because there are solid computer systems in place to prevent it.
"The computers monitor everything. The track is divided into 'blocks' and only one carriage is allowed into each block at one time.
"Quite simply, if one carriage is in one block, the computer won't let another one in."
Garvanovic added: "Human error should not come into it. There is no reason why anyone should be interfering because the computer does everything."
The 50mph rollercoaster, which boasts a world record 14 loops, has been closed twice because of safety concerns since opening two years ago.
The ride, which took more than eight months to build, has been closed twice because of safety concerns since opening two years ago.
In July 2013 it was closed after reports that a bolt was seen to have fallen from the ride and in November that year the rollercoaster was closed after plastic guard wheels came loose and hit front-row riders.
The Smiler was the first of three Infinity Coasters built by German manufacturer Gerstlauer. The other two coasters are at PowerPark in Finland and Erlebnispark Tripsdrill in Germany.
Meanwhile, the British designer behind the Smiler and some of the country's best-loved rollercoasters announced his retirement. Theme park pioneer John Wardley said he would step away from the thrill-seeking industry once the Staffordshire venue's latest ride opened.