On September 15, 2016, a 60 year old Mechanic, with 28 years of experience, was fatally injured at a Magnesite facility. The victim was seriously injured when he fell while dismounting a front end loader. The victim was hospitalized and died on September 26, 2016.
Best Practices
- Always use the “Three Points of Contact” method. Use either two hands and one foot, or one hand and two feet when mounting and dismounting equipment.
- Keep hands free of any objects when making three points of contact.
- Maintain traction by ensuring footwear is free of potential hazards such as dirt, oil, and grease. Slip resistant material can be coated to existing foot holds and handrails.
- Use hoisting materials to transport tools and other objects that may keep hands from being free.
- Inspect contact areas for slip or trip hazards.
- Ensure steps and handrails are properly secured and free of defects and debris and always face equipment when mounting or dismounting it.
- Ensure landing areas are equipped with adequate lighting.
Click here for: MSHA Preliminary Report (pdf), MSHA Investigation Report (pdf), Overview (pdf).
On September 21, 2016, a 52 year old contract drill operator / mechanic, with more than 30 years of experience, was killed at a limestone mine while performing maintenance on a truck-mounted rotary drill. At the time of the accident, the victim was attempting to remove the spindle cap from the top of the drill head while standing on the drilling deck. The victim was using a modified pipe wrench in an attempt to loosen the spindle cap using the machine’s drill rotation hydraulics by reaching into the operator’s compartment. As the victim activated the drill rotation lever, the wrench swung and struck him. The force of the impact knocked him against the operator’s cab, denting the frame and breaking the side window while the rotating wrench pierced his abdomen. As the victim attempted to climb down an adjacent step ladder, he was observed falling to the ground and striking his head. The victim was transported to a local hospital and died later that day as a result of his injuries.
On September 8, 2016, a 58-year old Haul Truck Operator with 23 years of experience was killed at a granite mine. The victim was operating a Caterpillar 773E haul truck and was returning to the pit to be loaded with shot rock. The truck veered from the right side of the haul road to the left and traveled over the berm at the top of the highwall. The truck landed upside down approximately 150 feet below. The victim was found outside the haul truck.
On August 9, 2016, a 33 year old Leadman Contractor, with 4 years of experience, was killed at a cement plant loadout. The victim was attempting to replace the lift cable pulleys on the barge loadout chute, when the anchor point for the temporary rigging separated from the loadout chute and it unexpectedly fell. The falling loadout chute caused the lift cables to tighten and the lift cables pinned the victim to the loadout chute causing fatal injuries.
On Friday, September 23, 2016, a 46-year-old miner was fatally injured in a vehicle accident that occurred along a portion of a mine’s access/haul road. The victim (passenger) and a coworker (driver) were traveling down an inclined portion of the road when the driver apparently lost control of the pickup truck, causing it to strike the road berm and roll over in the roadway.
On Friday, July 29, 2016, a 58-year-old miner with 40 years of mining experience sustained fatal injuries when an ignition occurred in the shaft he and another miner were working above. Two miners were welding threaded blocks to secure guarding around the drive-shaft between a motor and dewatering pump. Methane ignited within the shaft, and the victim was in the direct line of the ignition force. On August 4, 2016, the victim died from the injuries received during the accident.
On Monday, May 16, 2016, a 50-year-old motorman, with over 14 years of mining experience, was fatally injured when the diesel locomotive he was operating crashed through a closed airlock door. The diesel locomotive was pulling six drop deck cars and had stopped to allow another motorman operating a trailing locomotive to separate the cars to provide the clearance needed to pass through the airlock. As the other motorman was preparing to couple his locomotive to the cars, the train unexpectedly moved forward and continued away from him towards the slope bottom where it crashed through the closed outby airlock door.