Inspection Detail

Inspection: 116221391 - Appalachian Power Company

Inspection Information - Office: Charleston Area Office

Investigation Summary

A four-employee power line crew was assigned to reset a utility pole that had been disturbed by blasting at a nearby construction site. Another electric utility employee, who had inspected the site, had informed the crew supervisor that one utility pole was in good shape, but another was leaning and needed to be reset. The leaning utility pole was located on the west side of a four-lane highway, 12 to 15 meters from the roadway. This pole supported a three-phase 7200-volt overhead power line. A 1/0, 120/240-volt secondary power line ran from this pole, across the highway, to a 9.1-meter-tall, class-3 utility pole located on the east side of the highway, 15.8 meters from roadway. The top of the west-side pole was leaning away from the highway, which made the line crossing the highway very taut. The crew used a line truck with a boom and pole claws to straighten the pole partially so that it could be positioned in its original hole. A power line worker on the crew noted that this produced slack in the line crossing the highway and informed his crew supervisor. The secondary line was an estimated 3.0 to 3.7 meters above the highway. The supervisor instructed the power line worker to take his aerial lift truck across the highway and raise the line. At the employee's request, the crew deenergized the line. The power line worker set up his truck on the east side of the highway near the pole. Without wearing his body harness, he elevated himself in the aerial lift to raise the secondary line with a hoist. An 18-wheel tractor trailer traveling north on the highway struck the secondary line where it crossed the highway. This splintered the top of the east-side pole. The secondary line struck the power line worker in the neck and decapitated him. (His body fell from the bucket onto the bed of the truck.)

Keywords: CLEARANCE, OVERHEAD POWER LINE, POWER LINE WORKER, ELEC UTILITY WORK, TRACTOR TRAILER, DECAPITATED, UTILITY POLE, AERIAL LIFT