Inspection Detail

Inspection: 309151801 - Marine Terminals Corp Dba Evergreen Terminals

Inspection Information - Office: High Hazard Unit - South

Investigation Summary

At approximately 6:40 a.m. on December 9, 2007, Employee #1 a UTR driver at a container terminal, was under Crane Number 2, Berth Number TI-230, when her cab was lifted in the air. Her UTR was hauling a 40-ft container on a truck chassis. After entering the zone where the Swingman unhooks the chassis pins from the container, the Dock-a-loft issued the all clear signal to the crane operator and Employee #1 was lifted while in the driver's seat. The vehicle was lifted approximately 8-ft and it bowed towards the ground with one wheel still touching ground. The crane operator realized what had occurred and dropped the load back down. The crane operator was given the "Go" signal from the Dock-A-Loft. This signal is a wave of the hand flat over the head. The hammerhead crane in question can lift upwards of 100,000 pounds. The crane operator stated that he did not know of any distractions on the ground involving the Dock-A-Loft. Prior to the accident, five bomb carts were unloaded. Earlier in the shift there was a problem with a load from a chassis. When this occurs, the crane operator picks the container's back end up first and "floats" the load in order for the front pins to loosen. This is a standard practice. Floating the load occurs one to two times per shift. When the crane operator saw that he picked up the chassis with container, he had realized that the swingman did not fully remove the front horizontal chassis pins. The pin on the right side held the container to the chassis. The crane operator then saw Employee #1 being ejected from the UTR cab onto the ground. Employee #1 sustained a thoracic compression fracture, lumbar spine traumatic injury, left thumb traumatic sprain strain. Employee #1 was hospitalized.

Keywords: EJECTED, FRACTURE, SPINE, THUMB, TORSO, CONTAINERIZED CARGO, CRANE OPERATOR, SPRAIN, CRANE