Inspection Detail

Inspection: 307536607 - United Parcel Service

Inspection Information - Office: Albany Area Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 7:21 p.m. on November 12, 2004, Employee #1 and two other UPS aircraft maintenance personnel had just finished deicing an aircraft. Employee #1 and one coworker were in an elevated bucket and informed the other coworker, the driver, that they were ready for him to move the vehicle back to the parking area. The driver began moving at approximately 2 to 3 mph but due to baggage carts and other equipment, he could not take his normal route to park the vehicle. He drove directly towards the building with the bucket still elevated. The building had an overhang approximately 20 feet above the ground. The driver could not see the bucket and as he approached the building, Employee #1 yelled for him to stop the truck. By the time the driver stopped, the bucket had hit the overhand and slid under it. The coworker in the bucket ducked into the bucket but Employee #1, who was at the controls and had the communications gear, did not duck in time. Employee #1 was crushed between the back of the bucket and the building overhang. The driver backed up and the bucket was lowered. Employee #1 was hospitalized with a fractured vertebra and a tear between his colon and intestine.

Keywords: FRACTURE, MAINTENANCE, OBSTRUCTED VIEW, CRUSHED, STRUCK BY, ELEVATED WORK PLAT, VERTEBRA, COMMUNICATION, AERIAL LIFT