OSHA cites improper safeguards in forklift death at Logan
The death of a 51-year-old Winthrop man crushed by a forklift last August at Logan International Airport in Boston could have been prevented if his employer had “ensured proper safeguards” for operating the vehicle, federal officials said Monday.
“OSHA inspectors found that the company failed to ensure the worker wore a seat belt while operating the forklift, exposing him to rollover and crushing hazards,” when the machine fell on top of the man near the airport’s JetBlue terminal, the Occupational
Safety and Health Administration said in a statement.
In a 14-page report released Feb. 27, OSHA said Oxford Airport Technical Services, a Rochester, N.Y., maintenance company contracted by JetBlue, violated the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, and listed five “serious” citations, with $46,096 in “proposed penalties.”
Oxford Airport Technical Services and JetBlue did not respond to requests for comment Monday.
“Every workplace fatality is tragic, especially when there are well-known safety measures that could have prevented the loss of a person’s life,” James Mulligan, OSHA area director in Braintree, said in the statement. “In this case, the employer failed to train and certify their forklift operators on critical safety requirements. It’s simply inexcusable.”
In addition to failing to require that the man wear a seatbelt, Oxford Airport Technical Services did not “ensure that the forks” of the vehicle “were only raised as far as necessary,” the report said. The company also neglected to “ensure that each powered industrial truck operator is competent to operate a powered industrial truck safely,” according to the report.
The report said the forklift had “significant wear and damage to its tires” and should have been “taken out of service,” before the man, whose name has not been released, drove the vehicle.
Oxford Airport Technical Services has 15 business days to pay the fines, request an informal conference with OSHA, or contest the penalties, according to the statement. The company is scheduled to meet with OSHA’s Braintree office Friday to “discuss the citations and penalties,” according to Ted Fitzgerald, a spokesperson for OSHA.
The man, who died after he was injured while doing maintenance work for JetBlue through Oxford Airport Technical Services, was operating a Komatsu forklift in an outdoor loading area when he tried to drive through a bag service entrance, State Police said in August.
“An awning over the entrance contained a lateral metal beam with a sign indicating vertical clearance of 8 feet, 6 inches,” State Police said. “The forklift’s extended backrest was too high to clear the lateral beam over the service entrance. The extended backrest collided with the beam, causing the forklift to tip over and come to rest on top of the victim, who had been ejected to the pavement.”
A JetBlue employee who heard the crash and several coworkers rushed over to help, State Police said. They used an aircraft tow bar to lift the forklift enough to pull the worker out, and troopers attempted life-saving measures when they arrived moments later, State Police said.
The man was rushed to Boston Medical Center where he later died.