Inspection Detail

Inspection: 120218490 - Mountain Pride, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Redding District Office

Investigation Summary

The day before the accident, Employee #1 loaded the John Deere hydraulic log loader onto a low bed truck, removed the two bolts that hold the cab in the upright position, and lowered the cab to facilitate moving. The loader was moved to the Smith River Simpson Timber Com- pany-owned site and unloaded. Employee #1 raised the cab, but did not bolt it in place. The next morning an operator trainee walked the loader up the logging road toward the new landing. A couple of hundred yards short of the landing, Employee #1 took over the loader in order to pull in a couple of windfall logs. He drove the loader into a wet area where a small creek was located to reach a windfall log. He was having trouble reaching the log and crept in further and further. As he did so the downhill track started sinking in the mud. Employee #1 decided to bring the boom in to use it to push on the ground to get the loader out of that position. As the boom was brought in, the unbolted cab, which is hinged at the front, flipped forward, throwing Employee #1 into the front of the cab. Both of his legs were broken in this accident. Mountain Pride, Inc., was doing contract logging on Simpson Timber Company land at the time of the accident and was cited for a serious violation of 3328(e) for not securing the cab of the loader to prevent the cab from falling forward.

Keywords: FRACTURE, LOG LOADER, BOOM, UNSECURED, WORK RULES, BOLT, LOADER, LOGGING, LEG