22.06.2007

Missing bolts to blame

An inspection has confirmed that six out of 20 slew ring bolts were missing on the Versalift truck mounted utility lift that collapsed on May31st at the Othello elementary school in Othello. The accident killed the operator, Bob Smith and injured a teacher.
See tragedy at school

The lift was being used for an egg drop experiment with the whole school looking on.

The owner of the truck - Avista and the Department of Labor and Industries are still trying to determine how the bolts came loose.

Avista has ordered daily inspections of its boom trucks following the accident. Spokeswoman Jessie Wuerst says the company previously inspected the equipment just once a year, but daily inspections would continue until investigators found the cause of the boom failure.