Accident Report Detail

Accident Summary Nr: 200642114 - Employee is killed in fall from communications tower

Accident Summary Nr: 200642114 -- Report ID: 0627700 -- Event Date: 10/17/2001
Inspection Nr	Date Opened	SIC	NAICS	Establishment Name
303646590	10/18/2001	1623	0	S & K Structural Services, Inc.

Abstract: At 2:50 p.m. on October 17, 2001, Employee #1, a member of a communications tower construction crew, was at the 400 ft level of a 1,800-ft-high TV tower, working on the installation of a coax TV cable. A gust of wind blew the cover off a metal repeater enclosure at the 600 ft level, and the cover sailed off the tower. A nearby coworker yelled a warning and Employee #1 unhooked his safety line to try to get out of the way of the falling part. The metal cover struck Employee #1 and he was knocked off the tower. He fell 350 ft before landing on a platform attached to the tower. Employee #1 was killed. The crew had started work two days earlier. On the day before the accident, County sheriff personnel had climbed the tower to the 600 ft level to remove faulty repeater communications equipment from the metal cabinet enclosure.

Keywords: HIGH WIND, COMMUNICATION TOWER, TELECOM WORK, UNSECURED, WORK RULES, CONSTRUCTION, FALL, FALL PROTECTION, STRUCK BY, FALLING OBJECT

Accident Details
End Use		Project Type		Project Cost	Stories	Non-building Height	Fatality
Tower, tank, storage elevator		New project or new addition		Under $50,000		1800	X

Employee Details
Employee #	Inspection Nr	Age	Sex	Degree of Injury	Nature of Injury	Occupation	Construction
1	303646590			Fatality	Concussion	Occupation not reported	Distance of Fall: feet Worker Height Above Ground/Floor: 400 feet Cause: Interior plumbing, ducting, electrical work Fatality Cause: Fall from/with structure (other than roof)

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