Five people were seriously injured in the crash in June, with two women – Victoria Balch and Leah Washington – losing their legs after the incident.
Advertisement
Miss Washington was in the front row of a carriage on the ride which hit an empty one, trapping 16 passengers for up to four-and-a-half hours.
Training of employees was an area of development targetted in the report, which found that the ride did not suffer from any technical or mechanical problems.
It said that staff misunderstood a shutdown message and restarted the Smiler ride, overriding the control system without following the correct safety procedures.
The Saw ride at Thorpe Park in Surrey was shut following the crash and the company then chose to close Dragon’s Fury and Rattlesnake, both at Chessington World of Adventures.
The park did not specify precisely when the ride, which has been closed since the incident, would re-open – but it could be up and running when the whole park opens its gates following its winter break in early 2016.
Importantly, an additional level of authorisation will also be added to the existing supervisory protocols so that no manual override process can be completed without the authorisation and attendance of a senior member of staff.
Merlin has taken full responsibility for the incident and continues to cooperate with a Health and Safety Executive investigation.
However, it said this was a private matter between Alton Towers and the individuals involved.
Advertisement
The firm said that since the accident Alton Towers, one of Britain’s biggest theme parks, has put in place improved safety measures across all multi-car roller coasters to ensure there is no repeat of the accident.
