Inspection Detail

Inspection: 302537444 - Timberwolf Logging

Inspection Information - Office: Concord Area Office

Investigation Summary

Employee #1, an in-woods fuel truck driver, and his coworker, a skidder operator, were removing his fuel truck from the woods because it did not have functional service brakes and the snow and ice conditions were worsening as the day progressed. The nearly empty fuel truck was sent down the hills first, with a chain hooked from its rear bumper to the front end of the skidder. Employee #1 and the skidder operator got the truck down the hill and over the bridge at Lary Brook, after which there was a slight rise. The truck was operating under its own power as it went up, but then it stalled and started to roll downhill. The skidder operator quickly moved the skidder up behind it so that the skidder blade contacted the rear bumper of the truck and stopped it from rolling backward. Employee #1 got out of the fuel truck, went to the back of the truck, and motioned for the skidder operator to back up, which he did. Employee #1 then stepped between the vehicles. The skidder operator dismounted and started walking uphill toward the road. As he did so, he noticed the fuel truck moving backward and yelled at Employee #1 to get clear, but Employee #1's back was to the truck and he never had time to react. He was crushed and killed between the truck and the skidder blade. The parking brakes on the truck were not set, although this was unlikely to have made a difference, as they were later tested and found to be nonfunctional. The employer had known since September 1999 that the service brakes were not functional.

Keywords: BRAKE, INADEQUATE MAINT, WORK RULES, EQUIPMENT FAILURE, CAUGHT BETWEEN, UNMANNED, FUEL TRUCK, LOGGING, SLOPE, TOWED EQUIPMENT