Author -
Submitted By -Tying in 1/0
Just some brief information concerning the fatality that occurred in the Russellville Network, Northern Franchise on June 8, 1999, at approximately 3:30pm, with an employee of High Line Contracting.
The crew, tying in new 1/0 ACSR conductor, consisted of a journeyman lineman and two other men. The journeyman (fatality) and another employee were working from a 2 man, single bucket. This bucket was a man lift only, not material handler.
Two new phases (grounded) had been pulled in on 10' crossarms, #4ACSR was existing. This pole had a single phase #6cu lateral with a line switch (40amp) installed on the pole under the arm. This lateral broke off the field side of the pole at almost a 90 degree, (right angle).
The bucket truck was set up in a customer's driveway and the boom extended over the back driver's side corner. The crew had already tied in the road phase. They had worked from beneath the phases and over the main line neutral to do this. They proceeded to come back through the primary and neutral and rotate out to the field side, rotating clockwise. Then boomed over towards the lateral (in front of them) and the field phase (to their left) to tie in the field phase.
As they approached the lateral in front of them, the other employee reached out to the left side of the bucket and released the door or the stringing dolly. At this time a witness stated that the journeyman lineman began to "go ridged" and the other man was bucking around. There was no cover up material found on any conductors at this pole and both pair of rubber gloves were still in their bags. This is what was found when I arrived.
The man on the ground knew something was wrong and got on the truck to lower them down, but did not know how to operate the lower controls. The other employee in the bucket was able at that time to get to the controls and rotate the bucket away from the main line and lateral. We believe as the boom was rotated away from the main line, the boom bounced the 1/0 ACSR field phase out of the dolly and the conductor fell down onto the #6cu lateral, caused an arc and "cut" the 1/0 ASCR (grounded) in two.
The Safety Specialist for High Line will be conducting the formal investigation into the fatality and we await their report.