OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #511139
AURA, INC.
SELLS, AZ·
Event description
One employee killed, one injured by moving telescope dome
Investigation abstract
At approximately 8:00 p.m. on April 30, 1987, Employee #1, a telescope operator, the dome and killed. Employee #2 sustained an injured arm. was in the console (control) room of a building housing a 4-meter optical teles cope. He was preparing for the evening's observation run. He had just returned t o the console room from an exterior catwalk where he had seen a cloud that had b een threatening bad weather appear to be dissipating. He told the two astronomer s in the console room that the weather looked good enough to start the observati on run. Employee #1 opened the dome shutter and began moving the telescope to th e designated position. The computer automatically energized the drive motors and began to turn the 110-foot-diameter dome clockwise. Employee #1 was crushed by
Victims (2)
-
#1 Fatality Age 40 M
- Nature of injury
- 21
- Part of body
- 13
- Event type
- 2
- Source
- 26
- Occupation code
- 999
- Human factor
- 1
- Environmental factor
- 4
- Task assigned
- 1
-
#2 Non-hospitalized injury Age 45 M
- Nature of injury
- 3
- Part of body
- 22
- Event type
- 2
- Source
- 26
- Occupation code
- 999
- Human factor
- 1
- Environmental factor
- 4
- Task assigned
- 1
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