Fatality -- Stabbing Board Falls
Effective Date: 3/11/1977
 | Minerals Management Service Gulf of Mexico OCS Region |
Notice No. 058
March 11, 1977
OCS Operations Safety Alert
Fatality -- Stabbing Board Falls
A man received fatal injuries recently on an offshore drilling rig when the stabbing board on which he was working fell.
The stabbing board was the metal basket type running on a vertical track and was equipped with an air hoist and controls for positioning it upward or downward. Sixty-five joints of casing had been run and the board had been moved numerous times when the cable on the air hoist drum unspooled allowing the board to drop. The cable broke when extended to its full length causing the man to fall off the board to the rig floor 50' below. Investigation revealed that at the time of the accident the safety locking device lever on the board was not in use and the man was not using a safety harness.
To prevent a recurrence of this accident the operator is taking the following action:
1. Instruct all concerned in the operation and use of the safety devices provided on the stabbing board.
2. Be vigilant in the proper use of the provided safety equipment and devices.
3. Frequent inspection of the stabbing board and its safety devices.
4. Instruct anyone observed not using the provided safety devices in a hazardous situation to immediately use same or be removed from the hazardous location.
[signed] D.J. Bourgeois
for D.W. Solanas
Oil and Gas Supervisor
Field Operations
Gulf of Mexico Area