More than 30 accidents have been logged at Alton Towers in the last three years, the Birmingham Mail can reveal.
One guest was taken to hospital for checks after hearing her “neck crack” while riding the 60mph Rita ride in May 2013.
An advert for Rita on the theme park’s website says: “Hold onto your eyeballs as you’re catapulted from 0-100km/ph in 2.5 seconds!”
Other incidents saw a 13-year-old taken to hospital after hitting her head in the ‘scare maze’ when she was surprised by a performer.
She was “pushed into a wall by friends” after the shock, which resulted in her being taken to hospital with a cut in April 2013.
Another female guest was riding the Nemesis Sub-Terra ‘freefall tower’ with her family when she was accidentally headbutted by a member of her party who jumped after being “startled/scared”, a second report stated.
She was also taken to hospital with superficial facial injuries in July 2012.
Watch The Smiler in action
The details emerged in a Freedom of Information Act request logged before Tuesday’s horrific crash on The Smiler, which left four people badly hurt.
The injured were Daniel Thorpe, a 27-year-old hotel assistant manager from Buxton in Derbyshire, Vicky Balch, 19, from Leyland in Lancashire, textile design student Joe Pugh, 18, from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, and his girlfriend, Leah Washington, 17.
The Health and Safety Executive released details of 32 incidents logged over the three years, covering accidents and “dangerous occurrences”.
Employees also had to be taken to hospital after suffering mishaps.
In one incident, a ride host was on a turntable guiding boats when she fell into a water trough.
The 19-year-old, who was off work for more than a week, said she had ‘no idea’ what caused her to fall in September 2013.
An entertainer was also injured when the sole of his boot detached as he performed in a pirate show.
He sprained his ankle as he tripped and needed an X-ray at hospital, putting him off work for more than a week in October 2013.
Another employee was left with a lower arm and wrist fracture after securing a harness on a ride into position.
The 29-year-old was pushing down on the safety device when she heard something “snap” in April 2013, the report stated.
Alton Towers also reported a ‘dangerous occurrence’ after fairground equipment failed in October 2012.
The operator of the ‘Froghopper’ heard a bang and saw that one of two cables that lift the gondola had stopped.
He immediately activated the ride’s emergency stop mechanism and brought it down to ground level before the guests were released unharmed.
In another incident, an engineer was taken to hospital after falling a metre from the back of a flat-bed lorry.
The 57-year-old logistics vehicle maintenance operator was off work for more than a week following the accident in November 2013.
A spokeswoman for the attraction, owned by Merlin Entertainments Group, said before the Smiler accident: “Alton Towers Resort takes the health and safety of its guests and employees very seriously and consequently we have the best health and safety record of any theme park in the UK.”
The theme park’s rides are subject to thorough safety assessments and are checked by specialist maintenance engineers in accordance with strict procedures.
The spokeswoman added: “Our employees undergo regular training and we conduct regular health and safety audits on all of our rides and attractions to ensure we are identifying and resolving any issues that may occur.
“We take every precaution we can, including the provision of excellent first aid care by our on-site first responder team trained by West Midlands Ambulance Service.
“We also display prominent health warnings at the entry to every queue line giving our guests all the information they need before they make the decision to board the ride.
“As a result we deliver over 12.6 million individual rides safely every season.“
