Alton Towers Smiler crash investigation could take years, expert claims
It could take years to find out the cause of the Smiler ride crash at Alton Towers, a health and safety expert has warned as visitors returned to the park for first time since the incident.
Most of the park re-opened yesterday as doctors confirmed that 17-year-old Leah Washington, one of the four victims of last Tuesday's horror crash, has had to have her left leg removed from above the knee.
The X-Sector, including the Smiler, remained closed while the cause of the crash is being investigated.
But Dr Tony Cox, a fellow of The Institution of Mechanical Engineers, said from a safety point of view there was no reason why the £18million ride should not re-open in the future.
He said: "It is possibly okay for the ride to re-open but it shouldn't re-open until the experts doing the investigation have completely bottomed out the cause of it.
"Clearly something has gone wrong but the spectrum of possibility is very wide.
"It could have been a design fault which itself is independently reviewed so it could be something which has slipped through both nets.
"There are further statutory checks on the construction of it and then further checks on the operation of the ride which is annually reviewed.
"It could have been some kind of human error.
"But there are lots of different parties here - it is not just Merlin Entertainments.
"In terms of finding out who was to blame it could take a year, maybe several, unless the factors are incredibly clear."
Dr Cox, who has advised the Health and Safety Executive as a consultant in the past, said in most cases a cause was found eventually.
He added: "In principle, provided the causes do emerge, and in the work I have done they nearly always do, there is no reason at all why this particular ride shouldn't operate again.
"If you are saying it shouldn't because it has tarnished the park's image then that is another question."
Four people who were on the front row of the Smiler when a carriage collided with another last Tuesday were seriously injured.
Three of them are being treated at Royal Stoke University Hospital.
Yesterday, University Hospitals North Midlands NHS Trust confirmed 17-year-old Leah Washington from Barnsley had suffered an amputation above the left knee as well as a fractured left hand.
While her boyfriend 18-year-old Joe Pugh has sustained two broken knees and extensive head injuries.
Further victims Vicky Balch, 20 and from Leyland, and Daniel Thorpe, 27 and from Buxton, are in a serious but stable condition but their families have requested no further details be issued at this time.
Nick Varney, chief executive at Merlin Entertainments, said: "The accident last Tuesday was a terrible event for everyone involved. We are very aware of the impact it will have on those involved and we are doing all we can to provide our support to those injured and their families."
A spokeswoman from Health and Safety Executive, leading the investigation into the crash, said the body could not say when or if the ride would be allowed to open again.
