DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION
District 9
ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION REPORT
(Surface Coal Mine)
Fatal Powered Haulage Accident
Kyenta Mine (ID No. 02-01195)
Peabody Western Coal Company
Kayenta, Navajo County, Arizona
October 15, 1997
by
Jerry O.D. Lemon
Coal Mine Safety and Health Inspector
Michael Shumway
Coal Mine Safety and Health Inspector
Originating Office - Mine Safety and Health Administration
Coal Mine Safety and Health, District 9
P.O. Box 25367, DFC Denver, Colorado 80225-0367
John A. Kuzar, District Manager
ABSTRACT
On Wednesday, October 15, 1997, an electrician was utilizing a five-ton Ford flatbed truck, with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 48,000 pounds, to transport a new swing motor to the 2570 Marion dragline located in the J-19 pit. The swing motor assembly weighed approximately 23,300 pounds and was secured in an upright position to the bed of the truck with one 3/8-inch chain. As the operator descended an approximate 14% grade on the number 48 ramp into the J-19 pit, the weight of the motor assembly broke the chain and the assembly slid/tipped against the truck cab. The resulting impact crushed the cab and pushed the victim into the steering wheel causing fatal crushing injuries.
GENERAL INFORMATION
The Kayenta Mine is a surface coal mine, operated by Peabody Western Coal Company. It is located 15 miles south of Kayenta, Arizona, off U.S. Highway 160. The mine was opened in 1973 by Peabody Coal Company and has operated continuously to the present time. The mine employs 443 people, with 152 in the pits, 273 at the shops, warehouse and preparation plant, and 18 service and clerical workers. The mine operates three pits and produces coal three shifts per day, four to five days a week. Draglines and shovels remove the overburden and work six to seven days per week, three shifts per day. Coal is loaded by front end loaders and electric shovels and transported by truck to the preparation plant. Daily coal production is about 34,162 tons.
The principal officials for Peabody Western Coal Company at the Kayenta Mine are:
Robert Boone....................................Production Manager
William K. Bippus..............................Manager of Safety and Training
The last Mine Safety and Health Administration regular safety and health inspection was completed on April 23, 1997.
DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCIDENT
On Wednesday, October 15, 1997, at about 4:00 p.m., the afternoon shift maintenance crew under the supervision of Dennis Grass started their shift. Grass assigned electricians, Perry Kescoli and Joseph Nephew (victim), to haul the 2570 Marion dragline swing motor on the 1989 Ford, F-900 flatbed truck to the dragline in the J-19 pit. After making work assignments to other crew members, the foreman traveled to several job sites to check the progress of current repair work.
Electricians Kescoli and Nephew, loaded the dragline swing motor on the flatbed of the F-900 Ford truck. The motor was loaded in the upright position, with the brake assembly at the top. A 3/8-inch chain, 30 feet long, was installed from side to side of the truck bed in an effort to secure the motor and prevent movement during transport. The chain tension was taken up with two 3/8-inch boomers (chain slack adjusters). The motor was also positioned on a 4-inch tubular steel frame stand that measured 4 feet by 4 feet and stood about 15 inches above the top surface of the truck flatbed. The stand was not welded to the truck flatbed and the swing motor assembly was secured to the stand with a 3/4-inch hemp rope.
After the dragline swing motor was loaded, Nephew drove the F-900 Ford flatbed toward the job site. Kescoli followed in a pickup truck about 50 feet behind Nephew. At about 5:30 p.m., while descending the number 48 ramp, in the J-19 pit, at about survey station 2-66.58, where the grade was approximately 14%, Kescoli observed the following conditions. The swing motor bounced up and down and broke the 3/8-inch chain. The swing motor fell forward and forced a guard (headache rack) into the truck cab and crushed the cab. The resulting impact fatally crushed Nephew against the steering wheel. The Ford F-900 was traveling at about 5 miles per hour and coasted to a stop at the level bottom of the J-19 pit. The truck's engine was running and the automatic transmission was in second gear. Help was summoned by the pit foreman, Erwin Roan. The company emergency medical technician, Noble Harris, arrived on the scene, examined the victim and found no pulse, a crushed chest and no vital signs. The victim was removed from the truck and transported by company ambulance to the mine site medical facility, where he was pronounced dead by Kirk Snyder, Criminal Investigator for the Kayenta Police Department, Navajo County, Arizona.
MSHA was notified immediately and an investigation was started the following day.
PHYSICAL FACTORS INVOLVED IN THE ACCIDENT
- The equipment involved in the fatality was, a) A 1989 Ford,
F-900 five ton flatbed truck, with a gross vehicle weight
rating (GVWR) of 48,000 pounds, company number 251. b) A
2570 Marion dragline swing motor, brake assembly and the
brake wheel. The total weight of the Marion dragline swing
motor assembly is:
Swing motor 19,100 pounds Brake assembly 3,100 pounds Brake wheel 1,100 pounds Total weight 23,300 pounds
- The 2570 Marion dragline swing motor was being hauled from
the surface electrical shop to the dragline in the J-19 pit,
about a five mile trip.
- The fatal accident occurred on the number 48 ramp of the J-19
pit on a grade of about 14%. The ramp in the affected area
was approximately 60 feet wide and well maintained. The 14%
grade extended a distance of approximately 50 feet.
- The Ford, F-900 truck was traveling from 15 to 20 miles per
hour on the flat and approximately five miles per hour on
the number 48 ramp of the J-19 pit.
- The dragline swing motor assembly was loaded in the upright
standing position. The motor was set on a metal four foot
square, tubular steel stand that was 15 inches in height.
The stand was not secured to the truck bed, and slid/tipped
over during the accident. The dragline swing motor assembly
was secured to the stand with a 3/4-inch piece of hemp rope.
The hemp rope did not break during the accident.
- The dragline swing motor assembly was secured in the upright
position on a metal stand on the flatbed truck with one 3/8-inch
chain, thirty feet in length, and two 3/8-inch boomers
(chain slack adjusters). The swing motor assembly was not
secured from the front to rear of the truck flatbed.
- The 1989 Ford, F-900 flatbed truck had a guard (headache
rack) installed on it, between the operator's cab and the
bed of the truck. The guard was constructed of 3- inch
tubular steel and expanded metal facing. The guard was 92
inches wide by 54 inches high. The three support structures
of the guard were welded to the 3/16-inch surface metal
plating on the truck flatbed. There was a 17-inch high by
20-inch long steel support plate (brace) spot welded to both
outside support structures.
- The park brake and service brakes on the Ford F-900 truck
were found to be maintained and working.
- The 3/8-inch chain, thirty feet in length, used to secure
the swing motor assembly to the truck bed, broke
approximately four feet from one end prior to the fatal
accident.
- The first person at the accident scene found the diesel
engine running with the transmission in second gear. The
truck had coasted to a stop on the level ground of the J-19
pit. It was determined that the accelerator pedal would
have had to be depressed to require the truck to continue
moving in second gear.
- As the swing motor assembly was being transported down the
number 48 ramp of the J-19 pit on about a 14% grade, the
23,300 pound load bounced several times. The 3/8-inch chain
broke and the metal stand slid forward tipping over onto a
guard (headache rack). The weight of the motor assembly
pushed the guard against the truck cab, crushing the cab and
fatally crushing the truck driver against the steering wheel
and column. The force of the impact broke out the rear
truck window, crushed in both doors, damaged the truck
exhaust tube, bent forward the left side of the truck cab,
both seats in the cab and the steering wheel.
- Statements by the victim's co-worker and immediate
supervisor indicated that the victim and co-worker had
volunteered for crane training in November 1997. This
training included rigging instruction. These individuals,
however, did not receive this training.
- The investigation determined that the operator did not have safe job procedures for the hoisting and rigging of heavy loads. It was also determined that the electricians had not been given training on the rigging of heavy loads.
CONCLUSION
The cause of the accident was management's failure to require the 23,300 pound swing motor assembly to be secured properly on the bed of the flatbed truck. The motor and assembly were set on a steel stand that was not secured to the truck bed. The 8-foot 3-inch long motor was loaded in the upright position and one 3/8-inch chain, thirty feet in length, with two 3/8-inch boomers (chain slack adjusters) were used to secure the load from side to side of the truck bed in an attempt to prevent the load from sliding and/or tipping over. Neither the victim, nor his co-worker on this job assignment had received proper task training on lifting, loading and securing in place this type of equipment with the associated load weight ranges.
VIOLATIONS
A 103(k) Order No. 4891235.dated October 16, 1997, was issued to ensure the safety of the miners until an investigation could be conducted.
A 104(d)(1) Citation No. 4891237 dated October 28, 1997, was issued for a violation of 30 CFR-48.27(a)(1). No task training was given to the accident victim and his co-worker on the task of lifting, loading, securing, and transportation of heavy, bulky equipment.
A 104(a) Citation No. 4891236 dated October 28, 1997, was issued for a violation of 30 CFR-77.1607(r). The heavy swing motor assembly was not properly secured on the Ford F-900 flatbed truck, company number 251, to prevent it from sliding and causing injury to the truck operator.
Submitted by:
Jerry O.D. Lemon
Coal Mine Safety and Health Inspector
Michael Shumway
Coal Mine Safety and Health Inspector
Approved by:
John A. Kuzar
District Manager
Coal Mine Safety and Health, District 9
Related Fatal Alert Bulletin:
FAB97C26