Blaster fatality at Equality (Armstrong Coal Company, Inc.), KY, October 28, 2011

at 6:27 AM

On October 28, 2011, a blaster was fatally injured in a fall of face/rib/pillar/side/highwall accident at Equality (Armstrong Coal Company, Inc.), KY.

Equality · Surface · Coal

Operator: Armstrong Coal Company, Inc. (Armstrong Energy Inc)

Contractor on site: CXJ

Ohio County, KY

Classification FALL OF FACE/RIB/PILLAR/SIDE/HIGHWALL

Type Struck by falling object

Investigator narrative

Two employees were in route to begin shift loading holes in #11 Pit. As they traveled into the West end of this pit and attempted to drive up ramp onto work area the highwall collapsed resulting in death to both employees.

Record details

Activity at time of incident: Utility Truck, Water Trucks
Subunit / location: STRIP, QUARY, OPEN PIT
Accident type: Struck by falling object
Source of injury: CAVING ROCK,COAL,ORE,WSTE
Nature of injury: MULTIPLE INJURIES
Body part affected: MULTIPLE PARTS (MORE THAN ONE MAJOR)
Total mining experience: 2 years
Experience at this mine: 1 year
Experience in this job: 1 year
Degree of injury: FATALITY

Related fatalities

Same operator

October 28, 2011 · Blaster · Armstrong Coal Company, Inc., KY

Same classification

August 24, 2026 · Driller · Haynes Materials Company, CT
May 19, 2026 · Laborer · Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company LLC, PA
February 28, 2025 · Bull Gang Foreman · Marfork Coal Company, LLC, WV
January 29, 2025 · Drill Operator · Lexington Coal Company, LLC, WV
August 22, 2024 · Rotary Bucket Excavator Operator · Onyx Corporation, MA

Same year

December 15, 2011 · Laborer · Damascus 535 Quarry & Stone Products LLC, PA
December 8, 2011 · Warehouseman · Knife River North Central, MN
December 7, 2011 · Coal/Ore Shovel Operator · Fairbanks Coal Company Inc, VA
December 3, 2011 · Bulldozer Operator · Oxford Mining Co LLC, OH
November 17, 2011 · Ledgeman/Hand · Hecla Limited, ID

Verify on MSHA

Every record on this page mirrors what MSHA publishes under its Open Government Data program, refreshed weekly. MSHA does not publish per-accident URLs (the Accidents data is distributed as a single bulk file), so this is how to retrieve the source for the specific record below:

Accident record: Download MSHA Accidents.zip then search for Document number 220113140040 (the unique key per MSHA Form 7000-1)
Mine record: MSHA Mine Data Retrieval System and search by Mine ID 1519344
All MSHA datasets: Open Government Data program directory covering Accident, Mines, Inspections, Violations, etc.

Source: US Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) · Document 220113140040 · Mine ID 1519344 Trainer view →