Inspection Detail

Inspection: 310895123 - Torqued-Up Oilfield Production Services, Lp

Inspection Information - Office: Houston North Area Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 9:30 p.m. on March 25, 2007, Employee #1, the lead operator of a nipple-up crew and two other crew members had completed torquing the bolts on a dry hole tree at the wellhead of a natural gas well and were preparing to exit from the rig's substructure. Another nipple-up employee had erected a pump beneath the substructure to test the wellhead. Two employees of the drilling crew had begun rig-down activities and had lowered one of two elevator links (bail) to the ground using the air tugger. Control of the second of the bails was lost during the lowering operation. The leg of the 0.25-in. chain sling broke and the bail fell, bouncing into the substructure where it struck Employee #1. Employee #1 suffered a laceration to the head, blunt force trauma to the right chest and shoulder, a fractured right leg and internal injuries. Employee #1 was declared dead a few hours after arrival at the hospital.

Keywords: HEAD, EQUIPMENT FAILURE, LACERATION, CHAIN, CHEST, FRACTURE, OIL WELL DRILLING, STRUCK BY, SLING, FALLING OBJECT