Inspection Detail

Inspection: 18834325 - Purolator Courier Corp. U.S.

Inspection Information - Office: Department Of Labor, Licensing, And Regulation Division Of Labor And Industry Maryland Occupational Safety And Health

Investigation Summary

At approximately 11:00 p.m. on November 12, 1987, Employee #1, a guard for Purolator Courier Corp., Baltimore, MD, was standing by the driver's side of a Purolator tractor-trailer truck that was parked on the cargo loading ramp at BWI Airport, Glen Burnie, MD. The trailer's rear doors were completely open and secured with a latch device located on the outside at the bottom of each door. The back of the trailer was facing the cargo door of a Boeing 727 that was parked 50 ft away while it was being loaded with cargo from the trailer. A UPS DC-8 plane was parked about 100 ft in front of the tractor trailer truck. The fuselage line was about 45 ft to the left of the tractor trailer truck. When the UPS jet started its engines to taxi to the runway, Employee #1 moved directly behind the trailer to avoid the jet's propulsion blast. As the jet's fuselage came parallel with the tractor trailer truck, its propulsion caused the latch device on the trailer door to vibrate free. The door to swung around and struck Employee #1. He suffered a sprained back.

Keywords: AIRCRAFT, AIRPORT, VIBRATIONS, BACK, STRUCK BY, TRACTOR TRAILER, DOOR, SPRAIN