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 Staff Development Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Accident-analysis Accident-potential Accident-prevention Electrical-hazards Electrical-safety Electrical-systems Electrocutions Injuries Injury-prevention OSHA Region 10 Safety-clothing Safety-education Safety-measures Safety-practices Training Traumatic-injuries Work-analysis Work-environment Work-practices

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• 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
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• 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
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:a10fe4de02c8b87fb0a71ac7f92b49d3b45afca46cc0714254d167147874b020c32361d9eeeca8471905e9d028d2ee59c03c64c64d981e6596e5969cb97f6fbc
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/169095/cdc_169095_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 247.01 KB ]