Electrician fatality at Kayenta Mine (Peabody Western Coal Company), AZ, October 15, 1997

at 5:30 PM

On October 15, 1997, an electrician was fatally injured in a powered haulage accident at Kayenta Mine (Peabody Western Coal Company), AZ.

Kayenta Mine · Surface · Coal

Operator: Peabody Western Coal Company (Hanson PLC)

Navajo County, AZ

Classification POWERED HAULAGE

Type Caught in, under or between (Not Elsewhere Classified)

Investigator narrative

THE VICTIM WAS TRANSPORTING A DRAGLINE SWING MOTOR ON A FLATBED TRUCK WHEN THE LOAD SHIFTED AND CAME LOOSE FROM THE CHAIN TIE-DOWN AS IT PROCEEDED DOWN AN INCLINE. THE MOTOR FELL FORWARD INTO THE CAB, TRAPPING THE VICTIM AGAINST THE STEERING WHEEL OF THE TRUCK.

Record details

Activity at time of incident: Utility Truck, Water Trucks
Subunit / location: STRIP, QUARY, OPEN PIT
Accident type: Caught in, under or between (Not Elsewhere Classified)
Source of injury: PASS CARS,PICKUP TRUCKS
Nature of injury: CRUSHING
Body part affected: MULTIPLE PARTS (MORE THAN ONE MAJOR)
Total mining experience: 20 years
Experience at this mine: 20 years
Experience in this job: 18 years
Degree of injury: FATALITY

Related fatalities

Same operator

December 18, 1996 · Maintenance Man · Peabody Western Coal Company, AZ
November 22, 1994 · Electrician · Peabody Western Coal Company, AZ
September 13, 1989 · Electrician · Peabody Western Coal Company, AZ
January 18, 1989 · Maintenance Man · Peabody Western Coal Company, AZ
August 30, 1988 · Superintendent · Peabody Western Coal Company, AZ

Same classification

July 6, 2026 · Utility Man · U.S. Lime Company-St. Clair, OK
July 6, 2026 · Haul/Off Road/Coal/Ore/Pit/Quarry/Rock/Rubber Tire Truck Driver · Freeport-McMoRan Morenci Inc., AZ
June 26, 2026 · Haul/Off Road/Coal/Ore/Pit/Quarry/Rock/Rubber Tire Truck Driver · Le Claire Investments Inc, IA
April 3, 2026 · Section Foreman · Ohio County Coal Resources, Inc., WV
January 8, 2026 · Haul/Off Road/Coal/Ore/Pit/Quarry/Rock/Rubber Tire Truck Driver · Ash Grove Cement South Texas LLC, TX

Same year

December 26, 1997 · Continuous Miner Operator · Arch Of Kentucky, KY
December 25, 1997 · Security Guard · Imc-Agrico, FL
December 21, 1997 · Maintenance Man · Fox Mining Corp, KY
December 18, 1997 · Ledgeman/Hand · Georgia-Carolina Quarries Inc, GA
December 17, 1997 · Maintenance Man · Genwal Resources Inc, UT

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 219973040002 (the unique key per MSHA Form 7000-1)
Mine record: MSHA Mine Data Retrieval System and search by Mine ID 0201195
All MSHA datasets: Open Government Data program directory covering Accident, Mines, Inspections, Violations, etc.

Source: US Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) · Document 219973040002 · Mine ID 0201195 Trainer view →