Inspection Detail

Inspection: 108923699 - Ace Transportation, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Fort Worth Area Office

Investigation Summary

A crew of employees was dismantling an oil drilling rig so that it could be moved to another location. A gin pole truck driver and a swamper came to the site to assist in loading the dismantled rig onto a truck. As they arrived, the truck driver noticed that an overhead power line crossed a dirt road that they were going to travel on. He showed the power line to the swamper and told him to watch the line so that the poles would not contact them. The swamper acknowledged these instructions. The blowout preventer had been disconnected and was ready to be moved. However, the area was too wet and muddy for the gin pole truck to get any closer, so the truck driver hooked his winch line to the blowout preventer and dragged it to a dry location. He then raised the blowout preventer with the winch and gin poles, raising the poles to a nearly vertical position so that he could maintain a stable center of gravity and keep the front end of the truck from coming off the road. When he got the load raised, he began to drive up the road toward the truck onto which the load was to be placed. The swamper was walking next to the gin pole truck, holding onto the load to keep it from twisting and swaying. The truck driver looked out the back window of the truck and saw the swamper suddenly slump to the ground. When the driver stepped out of the truck, he saw that the gin poles had contacted the overhead power line, electrocuting the swamper.

Keywords: GIN POLE, DERRICK TRUCK, OVERHEAD POWER LINE, ELECTRICAL, BOOM, ELECTROCUTED, E GI IA