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| Alert
No. 198 |
Contact:
Buddy Stewart
Accident Results in Fatality
Recently, while two roustabouts
were positioning a stand of pipe into a pipe rack finger in the derrick, the
pipe rack finger fell to the rig floor, killing one roustabout and injuring the
other. The nine-stand derrick finger weighed approximately 65 lbs. and fell
approximately 90 feet. Preliminary indications are that the finger fell as the
result of the failure of a weld near the base of the finger.
Although the accident is currently
under investigation by MMS, with an official report to be issued at a later
date, the above facts and the potential for similar occurrences have prompted
this alert.
MMS recommends that all pipe rack
fingers currently in use and those scheduled for use be inspected for the
purpose of verifying their structural integrity. At the conclusion of MMS's
investigation of the accident, the issuance of an additional Safety Alert with
further recommendations is possible.
—GOMR—MMS—