Inspection Detail

Inspection: 305961625 - Aecom Gov Services Inc

Inspection Information - Office: Baton Rouge Area Office

Investigation Summary

Employee #1 was participating in an Army training evolution within the confines of the Fort Polk Ordnance Range. He was responsible for remotely activating a pyrotechnic unit. The unit was approximately 1-foot-long with the general description of a small missile and known as a Smokey Sam. The Smokey Sam was utilized by the Army at Fort Polk as a simulator for a Soviet Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG). The employee, along with three coworkers, four Army observers, and a squad of Army trainees were 60 to 75 meters downrange of the pyrotechnics launch site. Employee #1 was given the command to fire the unit, and when he did, the unit struck him in the face, killing him. A preliminary investigation by the Fort Polk Safety Director indicated that the unit deflected off a tree branch and then a tree trunk before striking the employee. At the time of the accident, the employee was wearing a kevlar helmet and a high impact flack jacket.

Keywords: STRUCK BY, FACE, PYROTECHNICS