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COAL MINE FATALITY - On Tuesday, February 3, 2004, a miner was fatally injured when he was thrown from the elevated bucket of a Simon-Telect 42-foot aerial bucket truck. The victim and two other miners were dismantling a shop building at a surface area of an underground mine. To remove one of the building's wooden support posts from the ground, a chain was attached between the aerial lift bucket and the post. When the victim applied upward pressure on the chain with the aerial lift, the post released from the ground, causing the aerial bucket to shift suddenly, throwing the victim out of the bucket. The victim fell approximately 22 feet to the ground.

Photo of Equipment

Best Practices

  • Use equipment only for its intended purpose. Man-lifts are not cranes!
  • Wear safety belts and lines where there is a danger of falling. All persons in man-lift type buckets should be tied off using a short lanyard regardless of the activity they are performing.
  • Routinely monitor work habits and strictly enforce compliance with established safe work procedures to ensure that personal protective equipment is used.
  • Ensure that equipment operators are properly trained and know the rated capacity, limitations, and appropriate use of the equipment.
    • More Information E-mail Suggestion for Accident Prevention Program Submit your own suggestion for a remedy to prevent this type of accident in the future.
    Please specify if you wish your submission to be anonymous or whether your name may be used. Please include the year of the fatality and the fatality number.

    This is the third fatality reported in the coal mining industry for calendar year 2004. Six fatalities had been reported in the coal mining industry as of the accident date in 2003. This is the 2nd machinery fatality for 2004, whereas at this time in 2003, no machinery fatalities had been reported.

    The information provided in this notice is based on preliminary data ONLY and does not represent final determinations regarding the nature of the incident or conclusions regarding the cause of the fatality.


    For more information:
    Fatal Alert Bulletin Icon MSHA's Fatal Accident Investigation Report