Maintenance Man

Miner was repairing broke conveyor chain on 94L bridge position himself under the bridge when it fell striking him in the chest area.

At approximately 2:00 a.m. on Friday, October 7, 2011, a fatal falling material accident occurred at the Owlco Energy LLC, Mine No.1. The accident occurred when a piece of mined roof rock used to support the raised Jeffrey Model 506 mobile bridge conveyor became dislodged, causing the bridge conveyor to fall and strike the victim. As a result, the victim was pinned between the mobile bridge conveyor and the mine floor, causing fatal injuries. The accident occurred because of mine management’s failure to ensure that raised equipment was blocked properly before allowing miners to work beneath it and miners were not trained in proper blocking techniques.

1. Mine management failed to ensure equipment was properly blocked against motion before repairs are performed.

   Corrective action: The operator has developed and implemented a written procedure for the proper blocking of equipment to be repaired. A minimum of two crib blocks will be placed under any raised equipment before repairs are made. If the height of the equipment requires additional blocking, the courses will be alternated to ensure stability. All blocking will be set on a firm, stable surface. The blocking will be checked for stability before any person begins work by lowering the machine in question until it is not supported by any hydraulic circuit but fully by the blocking material. The operator has trained the miners in this new procedure and results of the training were documented. The training for proper blocking was incorporated into the mine operator’s approved training plan.

Findings from MSHA's final investigation report, which supersedes the preliminary narrative above.

Activity at time of incident

Machine Maintenance

Subunit / location

UNDERGROUND

Underground location

LAST OPEN CROSSCUT

Accident type

Struck by falling object

Source of injury

BELT CONVEYORS

Nature of injury

CRUSHING

Body part affected

CHEST (RIBS/BREAST BONE/CHEST ORGNS)

Total mining experience

5 years

Experience at this mine

0 years

Experience in this job

1 year

Degree of injury

FATALITY