Fatality Narrative: Orchard Tractor Operator Run Over by Trailer-Mounted Water Tank

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Washington (State). Department of Labor and Industries
• Description:
  A 43-year-old apple orchard tractor operator died when he was run over by the wheels of a water tank trailer. On the day of the incident during the harvest, he was performing one of his normal job tasks. This task involved the operation of a tractor pulling a trailer-mounted, stainless steel 1,000 gallon capacity water tank to dampen the orchard's compacted dirt and gravel roads to suppress dust while the apple pickers were working. The orchard was located on a gradually sloping hill. The victim was driving the tractor with the attached nearly full water tank trailer downhill on an orchard road. The orchard road was constructed of dirt and gravel; it was straight, dry, and smooth with an approximate 1% slope. He was not watering down the road at this time. Investigators determined that what happened next was the result of the victim operating the tractor downhill in a gear ratio that was too high. This allowed the tractor to gather excessive speed. Due to the tractor's speed and the weight of the trailer, the tractor brakes were not able to slow the tractor. The victim attempted to shift to a lower gear ratio, but the gearshift became stuck in the neutral position. This allowed for an uncontrolled descent. The victim then fell, jumped, or was knocked from the operator's seat. After landing on the ground he was run over by the trailer wheels. He died at the scene. Investigators found the water tank trailer separated from the tractor. A piece of broken wire was found in place of the required safety bolt on the trailer's coupler. This wire broke either just before or after the victim came off the tractor, allowing the separation of the trailer from the tractor's hitch. Also, the tractor did not have a rollover protective structure (ROPS) or a seat belt. It is possible that the victim could have survived if the tractor had a ROPS and he was wearing a seat belt. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accidental Falls Accidents Agriculture Automobiles Education Mortality Occupational Health Safety Staff Development Workplace
• Keywords:
  Agricultural Agricultural Machinery Agricultural Safety Agricultural Workers Equipment Operation Equipment Operators Fall Protection Falls Fatalities Hazards Injuries Motor Vehicles Rollover Protective Structures ROPS Safety Belts Safety Measures Safety Practices Tractors Training Traumatic Injuries Work Environment Workers Worker Safety

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• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Publisher:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Report
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 10 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20051497
• Citation:
  Olympia, WA: Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, 71-128-2014, 2014 Mar; :1
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2014
• Performing Organization:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Fatality narrative: orchard tractor operator run over by trailer-mounted water tank
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f1bd2d029dc5702eb27c26269e5e413969987f5bd1a01bafb0962d552fff76efb8ecf77fa01d9105699505006e00611c903f4d71eb970172fa6d090507663fd2
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/228744/cdc_228744_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 407.94 KB ]