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Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) - Report of Investigation - Shaft Construction for Underground Mine - Fatal Fall of Person Accident Occuring August 10, 2007 - #12 - #14 CAI-2007-12-14

UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION
COAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH

REPORT OF INVESTIGATION
Shaft Construction for Underground Mine
Fatal Fall of Persons
August 10, 2007

Frontier-Kemper Constructors Inc. (A01)
Evansville, Indiana

at

Gibson Mine
Gibson County Coal, LLC
Princeton, Gibson County, Indiana
ID No. 12-02215

Accident Investigators

Charles H. Grace, P.E.
Assistant District Manager, Technical Programs, District 7, Barbourville, KY

Michael G. Kalich, CMSP
Senior Mining Engineer, Headquarters Safety Division

J. Jarrod Durig, P.E.
Civil Engineer, Technical Support, Pittsburgh, PA

Michael P. Snyder, P.E.
Mining Engineer, Technical Support, Triadelphia, WV

Kevin L. Doan
Roof Control and Ventilation Specialist, District 7

Originating Office
Mine Safety and Health Administration
Office of the Administrator
Coal Mine Safety and Health
1100 Wilson Boulevard
Arlington, VA 22209
Kevin G. Stricklin, Administrator
i
TABLE OF CONTENTS
VIEW OF SHAFT SINKING OPERATION.................................................................. ii
OVERVIEW........................................................................................................................1
GENERAL INFORMATION ...........................................................................................1
DESCRIPTION OF ACCIDENT......................................................................................2
INVESTIGATION OF ACCIDENT ................................................................................4
DISCUSSION .....................................................................................................................5
ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS ............................................................................................13
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................14
ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS .........................................................................................16
APPENDIX A MSHA 7000-50b Form (Victims) ......................................................17
APPENDIX B List of Persons Participating in the Investigation ..........................18
EXHIBIT 1 Photo of Nylon Sling and Shackle .........................................................19
EXHIBIT 2 - Drawing of Sling/Shackle in Collar Door.............................................20
EXHIBIT 3 Photo of Nylon Sling and Shackle in Collar Door...............................21
EXHIBIT 4 Photo of Position 1 of Shackle in Collar Door......................................22
EXHIBIT 5 Photo of Position 2 of Shackle in Collar Door......................................23
EXHIBIT 6 Photo of Position 3 of Shackle in Collar Door......................................24

ii







View of Shaft Sinking Operation


1
OVERVIEW
At 10:43 a.m. on Friday, August 10, 2007 an accident involving a fatal fall of
persons occurred at the Gibson County Coal, LLC., Gibson Mine, North Portal 2
shaft sinking site, resulting in the deaths of two employees and one retired
employee of Frontier-Kemper Constructors, Inc., an independent contractor.
Appendix A lists the names of the victims fatally injured as a result of the
accident.

The accident occurred when the three men were being lowered inside the sinking
bucket into the shaft to observe the bottom station concrete work. A nylon sling
and shackle attached to the bottom of the sinking bucket lodged into a shaft
collar door, thereby tipping the sinking bucket. This resulted in the men falling
from the bucket to the bottom of the shaft, a distance of approximately 550 feet.
At the time of the accident, the shaft had not yet been connected to the
underground mine workings.

The accident occurred as a result of Frontier-Kempers failure to ensure the hoist
was under the control of the hoistman at all times when persons were in the
shaft. The toplander was not at his station as the bucket was being lowered
through the shaft collar doors and the hoistman had no visual contact with the
bucket at this point. The hoistman lost control of the bucket when the nylon
sling and shackle entangled with the shaft collar door. The independent
contractor also failed to ensure that adequate fall protection was utilized while
persons were transported in the sinking bucket.

GENERAL INFORMATION
The principal officers for the mine at the time of the accident were:
Gibson County Coal, LLC:

Jimmy Allen Brown ........................................................ Superintendent

Mark David Kitchen ......................................Director, Health & Safety




2
Frontier Kemper Constructors, Inc.


Galyn Rippentrop .....................................................President and CEO

Christopher T. Richardson..... Mine Development Division Manager


George Zugel ................................................. Corporate Safety Director
Prior to the accident, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA)
completed the last regular safety and health inspection of the Gibson Mine on
July 25, 2007. The Non-Fatal Days Lost (NFDL) injury incidence rate for the
Gibson Mine in 2006 was 2.05 compared to a National NFDL rate of 4.90. For
2006, Frontier-Kemper Constructors, Inc. had an NFDL rate of 10.90 compared to
a National NFDL rate of 2.43.

The Gibson Mine Main Portal is located approximately 2 miles north of
Princeton, Indiana and 1 mile west of US Highway 41. The North Portal 2 site,
where the accident occurred, is located approximately 2 miles northwest of the
intersection of Indiana State Highways 64 and 65, and the Gibson Mine and the
North Portal 2 site are located in Gibson County, Indiana. The mine is operated
by Gibson County Coal, LLC., a subsidiary of Alliance Coal, LLC. The mine
began production in the Illinois Number 5 seam in December 2001. The average
thickness of the seam is 78 inches. The last recorded total liberation for the mine
indicates 3,472,207 cubic feet of methane liberated every 24 hours. The principal
operating officer for Gibson County Coal at the time of the accident was Mike
Stanley, General Manager.
The North Portal 2 Shaft Sinking Project is operated by Frontier-Kemper
Constructors, Inc., a subsidiary of Deilmann-Haniel International Mining and
Tunneling GmbH, Dortmund, Germany. The shaft construction began in
October 2006, and the shaft was at the coal level, 570 feet below the surface, at the
time of the accident, but the shaft had not yet been connected to the
underground mine workings. The person in charge of the operation for Frontier-
Kemper was Kyle Wooten, Project Manager. The shaft sinking operation consists
of three 8 hour shifts per day, 7 days a week.
DESCRIPTION OF ACCIDENT
Crew A, led by George Foster, Walker Boss, began work as usual at 8:00 a.m. on
the day of the accident. Foster, Greg Clevidence (Miner/Driller), Chris Girten
(Mucker Operator), Daren Stout (Miner/Driller), Jerry Rhodes, Jr.
(Miner/Driller), and Cody Robinson (Miner/Driller) entered the shaft shortly
after starting time. The scheduled work in the shaft that day was to spade
tights, which involved manually removing rock from the shaft wall that
protruded excessively into the concrete pour area and to otherwise prepare for a
3
concrete pour. Work proceeded normally, with 2 pieces of 6-inch angle iron
being called for and subsequently lowered in a bucket, using a nylon sling and
shackle attached to the bottom of the sinking bucket. (See Exhibit 1) Cody
Robinson exited the shaft at approximately 10:30 a.m. to drop off some parts.

On the surface, Jarred Ashmore, Project Engineer, was assisting and supervising
Frank Peavler, Parts Runner, and Cliff Schass, Electrician, in building forms for
two work deck hoist platforms. This was being done in preparation for splitting
the work decks to construct the curtain wall from the shaft bottom to the collar,
since the shaft had reached its approximate designed depth.

On the day of the accident, Frontier-Kemper was celebrating the 100
th

Anniversary of Kemper Construction Company and had several guests from
their Evansville, Indiana headquarters as well as from their parent company,
Deilmann-Haniel International Mining and Tunneling GmbH, on site being
trained in preparation for a tour of the surface facilities. Christopher (Todd)
Richardson, Mine Development Division Manager for Frontier-Kemper, and
Daniel McFadden, Retired Senior Executive Vice President and Director of
Frontier-Kemper, requested to view the operations in the shaft. Ashmore met
with them, and after ensuring that Peavler and Schass could continue building
the concrete forms, Ashmore, Richardson and McFadden boarded the sinking
bucket