Avista to inspect boom trucks daily
Six turret bolts were missing from the Avista lift truck that collapsed last week in a fatal accident at an Othello elementary school science demonstration, and the utility company says all of its trucks will now undergo daily inspections.
It’s unclear what, if any, connection the missing bolts have to the May 31 tragedy. But Avista is hoping the daily inspections will help identify any damage or needed servicing before workers are hoisted high above the ground in its fleet of 123 lift trucks, which also are referred to as boom trucks or cherry pickers.
“We are being vigilant and watching out for anything that is out of the ordinary,” said Avista spokeswoman Jessie Wuerst, adding the company previously inspected its boom trucks just once a year. She said the daily inspections will continue until the cause of the equipment failure is determined.
Killed in the boom collapse was Avista Utilities line foreman Robert D. Smith, 50, who was assisting in Hiawatha Elementary School’s annual egg drop when the truck’s extended boom separated from its base and the bucket crashed to the ground. The fall killed him and wounded fifth-grade teacher Melissa Martinez; both were inside the bucket. Martinez was hospitalized for non-life-threatening injuries and has since been released. The Washington Department of Labor and Industries is conducting its own investigation of the accident. Labor and Industries spokeswoman Elaine Fischer said the department is especially interested because the accident is unprecedented.
“People here haven’t heard of an instance where the boom broke off,” she said. “They definitely want to know how this could have happened.”
Avista investigators discovered that a number of the truck’s lower turret bolts failed, causing the boom to tear away from the turret. Eleven of the 20 bolts holding the boom to the turret were broken but still in place, according to Avista, while three were detached but found in the pedestal base. Six bolts were missing and could not be found at the accident scene, the utility company said.
The truck was last inspected in August.
Avista officials said the two occupants were within the bucket’s weight limit of 450 pounds. Smith and Martinez were elevated about 30 feet when the accident occurred.
Avista leased the used truck from Waukesha, Wis.-based Utility Equipment Leasing Corporation in July 2006. The Versalift aerial boom was manufactured in April 2005 by Waco, Texas-based Times Manufacturing Co. and attached to the truck in early 2006, according to Avista.
Although the leasing firm is assisting in the state investigation, Wuerst said the accident involved the boom equipment and not the truck. Judy Taylor, the leasing company’s president, declined to comment on the tragedy.
Time Manufacturing engineering manager James Christian flew out to view the truck last week and said Thursday he’s unaware of any cases similar to this one.
“We don’t really know what happened out there,” he said, adding he plans to continue to work with the Department of Labor and Industries to find out. “It’s a tragic accident, and we are saddened that it occurred, but it’s too early in the investigation to know.”
A 23-year employee of the company, Smith had participated in the annual science demonstration for the past 15 years. Each class would construct a protective egg container, and the teacher would drop the container from an elevated bucket truck that Avista often provided.
Smith’s funeral Mass will take place today at 11a.m. at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Othello, Wash., with burial to follow at the Bess Hampton Memorial Gardens.