Inspection Detail

Inspection: 115500761 - Reece Bro'S Inc

Inspection Information - Office: Dosh Everett Service Location, Everett, Wa

Investigation Summary

Employee #1 was using a 966-C Cat bucket loader, serial #76-J1027, to remove the remains of a mud slide blocking a road on the downgrade side. He loaded approximately 1 1/2 yards of mud from the left edge of the slide, then proceeded in reverse down a 11 to 12 percent grade road. At the approximately 90 ft mark, the loader was corrected, bringing it back in the road from the right (ditch) side to the dump line. At approximately 117 ft, a change in the tire tracks was later noted. Around 5 ft had been bunched in a tread as if some resistance from the drive train had been applied at the 60 ft to 70 ft mark from track. The track continued in reverse to the edge of the left side of the road where the loader left the road, driving over the bank in reverse. Its left rear tire dropped over a stump, causing the loader to roll on top of the cab. The machine, parallel with the bank, continued to roll downhill, then back to an upright position. It came to rest on its left side, around 50 to 60 degrees against dirt and stumps. The bucket was facing southwest and the counterbalance was facing northeast. The cab had been smashed down and forward, pinning and killing Employee #1. The loader was in second gear and in forward. The forward position may account for the track marks. Employee #1 may have used the forward drive to slow down the loader; doing so may have killed the engine and caused the loader to run away. The service brake system pedal had no dirt marks indicating use. The declutch pedal had mud and footprints on it.

Keywords: EMBANKMENT, ROLL-OVER, STEEP GRADE, LOADER, LOGGING, BACKING UP