Logger killed as skyline cable whips free of slash pile

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Oregon Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (Program) (OR-FACE) ; Oregon Health & Science University. Oregon Center for Research on Occupational and Environmental Toxicology (CROET)
• Description:
  On April 28, 2003, a 37-year-old logger, working as a hooktender, was struck, and killed by a skyline cable as it whipped free from a large pile of logging debris, known as a slash pile. The hooktender, the employer's representative responsible for supervising the logging crew, and a choker setter, had extended the skyline to a new tailhold, without running the lines in and pulling a new layout in a straight line to the new location as originally planned. The jump put a 90-degree angle in the cable, with the slash pile in its path as it was drawn taut. The hooktender gave a signal to raise the skyline before he and the choker setter were in the clear. They were standing in front of the tailhold stump, less than 15 feet away, and had just turned to move uphill to a safe spot, when the skyline cable broke through the slash pile and whipped outward and back. The heavy cable struck the hooktender in his chest, knocking him into the choker setter. The choker setter sustained a fractured arm. The hooktender was knocked unconscious. The call of a man down brought the whole crew of eight to the scene, plus the employer and landowner who were also onsite. The victim was put on a stretcher and carried to a nearby logging road. He regained consciousness briefly and complained of intense pain. He tried to stand, but immediately fell, no longer breathing. Resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful. Local ambulance personnel arrived and transported the victim to a landing site for a life-flight helicopter, where he was pronounced dead. Recommendations: 1. Where possible, string lines to avoid hang-ups, and always position yourself in the clear of all lines being moved. 2. The hooktender must plan operations in advance and effectively communicate with coworkers to assure the safety of the logging crew. 3. Employers and employees should avoid extended work schedules, or drug and alcohol use during work hours, to reduce the risks created by fatigue or impairment.
• Content Notes:
  Publication Date provided by FACE program
  
  not printed on the report.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Forestry Occupational Health Safety Safety Management Workplace
• Keywords:
  Accident-analysis Accident-prevention Forestry-workers Injuries Injury-prevention Logging-workers Lumber-industry Lumber-industry-workers Lumberjacks OSHA Region 10 Safety-education Safety-equipment Safety-measures Safety-monitoring Substance-abuse Traumatic-injuries Work-analysis Work-areas Work-operations Work-performance Work-practices

  More +
• FACE - NIOSH and State:
  FACE ; Logging ; Machine (All) ; Machine - General ; Prevention through Design (PtD)
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Subseries:
  State
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHSFACE03OR007
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Oregon ; OSHA Region 10
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  7 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20026948
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2006-113381
• Citation:
  Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, FACE 03OR007, 2003 Oct ; :1-7
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2004
• Performing Organization:
  Oregon Department of Human Services
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  11 - Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  2002/09/01
• End Date:
  2006/08/31
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:9fa45f55812550fe6b6eac0493ab67c90d12c6d128a816f63dd55dfde1c0e77ea9e6cbc816a5c80830c5127d0ed60adbfe36b7aa0e0bc2b3d73f7ac34a9c8401
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/169077/cdc_169077_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 151.62 KB ]