Laborer/rigger electrocuted during an aerial lift of equipment

Details

• Personal Author:
  Beller, Michael ; Choromanski, Deborah
• Corporate Authors:
  Alaska Fatality Assessment & Control Evaluation Project (Alaska FACE) ; Alaska. Division of Public Health. Section of Epidemiology. Occupational Injury Prevention Program
• Description:
  A 38-year-old laborer/rigger was electrocuted when a cable attached to a helicopter contacted an overhead power transmission line. The laborer/rigger (the victim) and a coworker had completed their assignment of testing new foundation anchors, located below a set of three transmission lines energized to 69 kV. They had just finished moving and attaching rigging cables to two steel beams. The ground crew used a radio in a truck on a nearby access road to request the aerial lift. The transport staging area was 15-20 feet east of the north-south running transmission lines. A helicopter with an attached non-retractable 111-foot cable arrived and hovered. The wind direction was from the east, placing the helicopter upwind from the lines. As the helicopter maintained a heading nearly parallel to the lines, it descended to place the hook and 5-7 feet of the cable on the ground approximately 10 feet south of the load. The co-worker picked up the hook and brought it underneath the helicopter to the beams where the victim was holding the attached rigging cables. Once attached, the co-worker turned to move away from the load and the helicopter. He heard a crack after taking a few steps. He turned and saw the victim stagger away from the beams and collapse. Simultaneously, the helicopter crew heard a crack and saw a flash. The pilot moved the helicopter away from the lines, lifting the load and dropping it nearby. The co-worker then went to assist the victim. Unable to get any response, he ran to a truck to radio for help. Another co-worker standing near the truck went back to the victim and started CPR. After landing the helicopter a short distance away, the pilot exited the aircraft to check the victim's condition. The co-pilot took command of the helicopter and went to retrieve an emergency medical technician (EMT) employed by the company. Several minutes later, the helicopter returned with the EMT. The co-pilot then flew to a refueling area to bring a helicopter with a transport litter to the incident site. The victim was transported to a local medical facility where he was pronounced dead. Based on the findings of the investigation, to prevent similar occurrences, the employer should: 1. Ensure that all aerial lift staging areas are located outside a 20-foot safety zone around overhead power lines and are clearly marked ; 2. Ensure that an extended safety zone is used when aerial lifts cannot be done downwind of energized overhead power lines ; 3. Ensure that workers are provided with two-way radios for communicating with the helicopter pilot during aerial lifts ; 4. Ensure that a spotter is present to provide directions to the helicopter pilot during aerial lift operations and that they (the spotter and pilot) are familiar with both verbal commands and hand signals ; 5. Ensure that workers use insulated footwear and gloves while working near power lines ; 6. Ensure first aid plans minimize response times during emergencies. In addition, helicopter operators and the helicopter aviation industry should: 1. Consider using non-conductive cables when airlifting loads near overhead power lines ; 2. Consider developing and implementing safe operation guidelines for aerial lifts near overhead power lines.
• Subjects:
  • Accident Prevention
  • Accidents
  • Accidents, Occupational
  • Electric Injuries
  • Electricity
  • Occupational Health
  • Personal Protective Equipment
  • Protective Clothing
  • Safety
  • Safety Management
  More +
• Keywords:
  • Accident-analysis
  • Accident-potential
  • Accident-prevention
  • Accidents
  • Injuries
  • Injury-prevention
  • Safety-education
  • Safety-practices
  • Safety-measures
  • Traumatic-injuries
  More +
• FACE - NIOSH and State:
  FACE ; Commercial Aviation ; Construction ; Electrocution
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Subseries:
  State
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHSFACE99AK011
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Alaska ; OSHA Region 10
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  14 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20026924
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2010-115396
• 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 99AK011, 2000 Jan ; :1-14
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2000
• Performing Organization:
  Alaska Department of Health and Social Services
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  23 - Construction - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  1991/09/30
• End Date:
  2006/08/31
• Resource Number:
  FACE-99AK011
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/169095/cdc_169095_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 247.01 KB]
• Collection(s):
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:a10fe4de02c8b87fb0a71ac7f92b49d3b45afca46cc0714254d167147874b020c32361d9eeeca8471905e9d028d2ee59c03c64c64d981e6596e5969cb97f6fbc