AA mechanic in ABQ killed

[odie01]

Informer, thank you for the words below which I copied.

"Almighty Father, eternal God, hear the prayers for our co-worker whom You have called from this life to Yourself.

Grant him light, happiness, and peace. Let him pass in safety through the gates of death, and to live forever with all Your saints in the light You promised to Abraham and to all his descendants in faith.

Guard him from all harm and on his great day of resurrection, reward and raise him up with all Your saints.

Forgive his sins and give him eternal life in Your kingdom.

Give his family and friends strength through faith to know that he is safe, and that one day in the Kingdom a reunion will take place.

We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen."

Good little prayer Informer, short and to the point. Big Amen here!
I have lost lots of friends with AA due to cancer, suicide, and vehicle wrecks. Can't say I know many that have lost their life in the line of duty, may he rest in peace.

 

[Frank Szabo]

Informer, thank you for the words below which I copied.

"Almighty Father, eternal God, hear the prayers for our co-worker whom You have called from this life to Yourself.

Grant him light, happiness, and peace. Let him pass in safety through the gates of death, and to live forever with all Your saints in the light You promised to Abraham and to all his descendants in faith.

Guard him from all harm and on his great day of resurrection, reward and raise him up with all Your saints.

Forgive his sins and give him eternal life in Your kingdom.

Give his family and friends strength through faith to know that he is safe, and that one day in the Kingdom a reunion will take place.

We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen."

Prayers downrange also ...

 

[kschskr]

Prayers downrange also ...

I am the sister-in-law of the man who was killed (Ed Lewis). First I want to say on behalf of the family, thank you for the prayers.

Second if any one saw or heard the "real" details, please email me. The OSHA report we recieved has a couple of errors that we know (including his address and last date of work). Of course AA isn't giving us any information. I'm new to this forum so if I need to do something to get emails, please let me know. I'm doing anything I can to help my sister find out what really happened.

Again, thank you all for the prayers and keep them coming as we will need them in the days ahead.
C

 

[kschskr]

According to this link he was crushed while working on (what I assume) was a belt loader.

We, the family of Ed, were told it was a belt loader and he was doing regular maintance. However, this machine was always breaking down. If anyone knows what really happened please email me.\
C

 

[AAinsider]

I am the sister-in-law of the man who was killed (Ed Lewis). First I want to say on behalf of the family, thank you for the prayers.

Second if any one saw or heard the "real" details, please email me. The OSHA report we recieved has a couple of errors that we know (including his address and last date of work). Of course AA isn't giving us any information. I'm new to this forum so if I need to do something to get emails, please let me know. I'm doing anything I can to help my sister find out what really happened.

Again, thank you all for the prayers and keep them coming as we will need them in the days ahead.
C

Mech was replacing actuator cylinder on belt loader. Was using another belt loader and chain to hold belt frame while removing cylinder. Loader being worked on rolled back causing chain to slip off off belt frame which fell on Mech, killing him. OSHA will probably fault Mech for using unapproved procedures. In reality he was pressured by management to get the equipment working no matter what and it's standard AA procedure to not provide manpower and equipment to get the job done safely. If I were the family I would get a good lawyer and go for the bucks.

 

[kschskr]

Mech was replacing actuator cylinder on belt loader. Was using another belt loader and chain to hold belt frame while removing cylinder. Loader being worked on rolled back causing chain to slip off off belt frame which fell on Mech, killing him. OSHA will probably fault Mech for using unapproved procedures. In reality he was pressured by management to get the equipment working no matter what and it's standard AA procedure to not provide manpower and equipment to get the job done safely. If I were the family I would get a good lawyer and go for the bucks.

Thank you for responding.
c

 

[Hopeful]

Thank you for responding.
c

I am sure there are many employees who would give testimony about how things are done at AA.

 

[kschskr]

I am sure there are many employees who would give testimony about how things are done at AA.

Unfortunately, I think most will not if they still work there and I'd not ask them to risk their jobs.

If pointing us in the direction of where to look would help of if there is anyone that would like to provide information, please send me a private message. I know Ed would have helped anyone in this situation and hope there is someone willing to do so for him.


Thank you all for providing what you can.
C

 

[kschskr]

Unfortunately, I think most will not if they still work there and I'd not ask them to risk their jobs.

If pointing us in the direction of where to look would help of if there is anyone that would like to provide information, please send me a private message. I know Ed would have helped anyone in this situation and hope there is someone willing to do so for him.


Thank you all for providing what you can.
C

One more thing...AA is providing EAP help for employees affected by this loss...please use if u need it. I would also hope any passengers who witnessed it would be helped by AA.

 

[eolesen]

Mech was replacing actuator cylinder on belt loader. Was using another belt loader and chain to hold belt frame while removing cylinder. Loader being worked on rolled back causing chain to slip off off belt frame which fell on Mech, killing him. OSHA will probably fault Mech for using unapproved procedures. In reality he was pressured by management to get the equipment working no matter what and it's standard AA procedure to not provide manpower and equipment to get the job done safely. If I were the family I would get a good lawyer and go for the bucks.

With all due condolences to the family, I think the assumption that OSHA will fault the mechanic is correct based on the first three sentences above.

If you're working underneath a load, it's your job to make sure there is a jack stand in place or cribbing in place, and/or that the wheels are chocked. I don't know of a single mechanic, be it GSE or AMT, who isn't aware of that.

 

[Kev3188]

Do the belts AA uses not have the built in metal braces to hold the conveyor up if the hydraulics aren't working? AFAIK, all of ours at NW (and now DL) do, for this very reason.

 

[TWU informer]

With all due condolences to the family, I think the assumption that OSHA will fault the mechanic is correct based on the first three sentences above.

If you're working underneath a load, it's your job to make sure there is a jack stand in place or cribbing in place, and/or that the wheels are chocked. I don't know of a single mechanic, be it GSE or AMT, who isn't aware of that.

Maybe so E, but AA has a responsibility to not place any untrained personal into such situations.
I have no idea what training this person had, but I susupect that a Title 1 AMT doing Title 2 work would leave some doubt as to his training to do this job. Even the size of the station would leave one to believe that he was not trained at all to repair belt loaders period.

It is a sad outcome, and even more sad if it could have been prevented, or a least a reduction of the potential for the sad outcome. Is a life really worth a belt loader being in service ASAP?

I have no idea if AA has liability issues here, and I have no idea if safety standards were not complied wiht, but do disregard that possibility with an "it's your job" statement is foolish and brash to say the least.

 

[eolesen]

Sorry you feel I'm being brash or harsh, Dave.

Last winter, I changed out the wheelsets on a railroad car at the museum I volunteered at. The wheelset was approx 10 tons of cast iron, and nobody got underneath until we had cribbing in place. Same thing flipping axles on my fifth wheel a few years ago.

If I as a management flunkie/drone know that, then I don't know how anyone who has worked around airplanes or powered equipment couldn't know the risks of an unprotected crush zone or pinch point...

 

[TWU informer]

Sorry you feel I'm being brash or harsh, Dave.

Last winter, I changed out the wheelsets on a railroad car at the museum I volunteered at. The wheelset was approx 10 tons of cast iron, and nobody got underneath until we had cribbing in place. Same thing flipping axles on my fifth wheel a few years ago.

If I as a management flunkie/drone know that, then I don't know how anyone who has worked around airplanes or powered equipment couldn't know the risks of an unprotected crush zone or pinch point...

I can see your point E
No doubt a mistake was made by the deceased, but legally and in accordance with safety standards, I feel someone else also made a mistake here.

 

[Buck]

I can see your point E
No doubt a mistake was made by the deceased, but legally and in accordance with safety standards, I feel someone else also made a mistake here.

A mistake yes, however it is most likely the equipment failed if a Preventive Maintenance was not performed in a timely manner.