Inspection Detail

Inspection: 106495666 - Civco Corp.

Inspection Information - Office: Tampa Area Office

Investigation Summary

A four-man crew, including Employee #1, was erecting a three-legged 180 ft tall communication tower. They were using a Tulsa model 34 winch mounted on the back of a 1972 Ford 750 truck, and using a PTO to power the winch. A 5/16 in., 7 by 19 wire rope was reeved from the winch 31 ft to the southwest leg of the tower, through a small block, then up to another block at the top of the 120 ft leg, then down to a shackle on a 50 ft long gin pole. The attachment was about 23 ft from the top of the gin pole. Employee #1 was standing on the gin pole just above the attachment as the crew attempted to raise it. He radioed down to the foreman, who was standing next to the winch operator, to tell him that he wanted to raise the gin pole another 2 ft. The fourth man was positioned on the tower near the bottom of the gin pole. As the pole was raised, the wire rope parted 118 ft from the attachment and the gin pole and Employee #1 fell 120 ft. He was killed.

Keywords: GIN POLE, FRACTURE, COMMUNICATION TOWER, WIRE ROPE, BROKEN CABLE, CONSTRUCTION, EQUIPMENT FAILURE, FALL, WINCH, POWER TAKE-OFF