Abstract: At approximately 2:30 p.m. on August 12, 2004, Employee #1, a city councilwoman, was part of a group at an airport to meet a presidential candidate at his airplane. A loading stairway was truck mounted and was telescoping. The stairway was manufactured by Wollard Aircraft Equipment Incorporated, Model TLPH 560, and Serial Number 158. The stairway had no loose or missing components and was at a 40 degree angle. The step was 10.25-in. with a 7.75-in. rise. The top of the hand rail was 36-in. above the nose of the steps. The lower half of the stairway was 48-in. wide. Since the stairway was truck-mounted, the last two steps of the stair way were hinged to rotate up out of the way while traveling. The distance between the ground and the first step was 8.5-in. The hand rails terminated in line with the middle of the second step with a vertical drop to the truck bed. Employee #1 wore flat shoes and held onto the handrail. When Employee #1 descended the stairway and was close to the bottom, she fell to the concrete runway. She suffered a fractured ankle and a fracture to the fifth metacarpal bone in her left hand. Employee #1 was hospitalized.