OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #14443972
B & B LOGGING
JAVA, VA·
Event description
LOGGING EMPLOYEE STRUCK AND KILLED BY FALLING TREE
Investigation abstract
AT APPROXIMATELY 7:45 AM ON FEBRUARY 26, 1987, EMPLOYEE #1 WAS ASSISTING IN THE MANUAL FELLING OF TREES. HE WAS STANDING APPROXIMATELY 60 FEET TO THE EAST OF A 76 FOOT HIGH TREE TO BE FELLED. THE TREE FELLER NOTCHED AND UNDERCUT THE 14 INCH DIAMETER TREE TRUNK ON THE SOUTH SIDE (INTENDED DIRECTION OF FALL). HE THEN MAD E A BACK CUT ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE TREE. HOWEVER, THE TREE STARTED TO FALL EA ST, TOWARD EMPLOYEE #1. EMPLOYEE #1 IMMEDIATELY RAN ABOUT 15 FEET TO THE NORTH A ND HID BEHIND A TREE LOCATED 57 FEET FROM THE TREE FELLER. FOR SOME REASON, EMPL OYEE #1 STUCK HIS HEAD OUT FROM BEHIND THE TREE HE WAS HIDING BEHIND AND WAS STR UCK AND KILLED BY THE TRUNK OF THE FALLING TREE.
Victim
-
#1 Fatality Age 21 M
- Nature of injury
- 12
- Part of body
- 13
- Event type
- 1
- Source
- 34
- Occupation code
- 496
- Human factor
- 4
- Environmental factor
- 6
- Task assigned
- 1
Codes shown verbatim from OSHA's accident-investigation database. A human-readable decoder is coming in a future release once the accident_lookup2 dictionary is loaded.