UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION
District 5
ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION REPORT
(UNDERGROUND COAL MINE)
FATAL ROOF FALL ACCIDENT
Mine #5 (I. D. No. 44-06551)
Minutemen Coal Company, Inc.
Wise, Wise County, Virginia
July 15, 1997
By
Benjamin S. Harding
Mining Engineer
Charles E. Upchurch
Coal Mine Safety and Health Inspector
Originating Office - Mine Safety and Health Administration
P. O. Box 560, Wise County Plaza, Norton, Virginia 24273
Ray McKinney, District Manager
GENERAL INFORMATION
Mine #5 of Minutemen Coal Company, Inc. is located one-tenth mile
east of Route 823, on Indian Creek. The mine was opened by six
drifts into the Dorchester coal seam. The coal seam averages 42
inches in height.
Coal is mined from the active faces with a continuous mining
machine and transported to the belt feeder in shuttle cars. The
coal is then transported to the surface via belt conveyors. The
mine operates two shifts per day, producing coal on the day shift
and performing maintenance on the owl shift. The mine has eight
underground and two surface employees. There is no production
history as the accident occurred during the first production
shift after the mine was reactivated on July 14, 1997.
The main mine roof strata consists of 30 feet, or more, of
sandstone. The immediate roof consists of six inches, or more,
of shale. The mine floor consists of six inches, or more, of
shale. The Approved Roof Control Plan, dated July 11, 1997,
provides for full roof support in all entries, crosscuts, and
rooms. The plan stipulates, as a minimum, the use of 36 inch
mechanically anchored roof bolts, 48 inch fully grouted resin
rods, or 60 inch point anchor/combination anchor bolts. The
maximum entry and crosscut widths are 20 feet, except for the
belt entry, which is allowed a width of 22 feet. Entries and
crosscuts can be developed on 50, 55, 60, and 70 feet centers.
When adverse conditions are encountered, entry centers can be
developed from 80 to 200 feet. The plan contains provisions for
extending cut depths to 30 feet during development and for
partial pillar extraction during second mining utilizing a
three-cut system.
Principal officers of Minutemen Coal Company, Inc. are:
Stephen Halsey................................President
Carl A. Hamilton..............................Secretary/Treasurer
A Mine Safety and Health Administration safety and health
inspection had not as yet been conducted because the mine was
reactivated on July 11, 1997.
DESCRIPTION OF ACCIDENT
On Tuesday, July 15, 1997, the day shift crew, under the
supervision of David Francis, Section Foreman, entered the mine
at 7:05 a.m., and arrived on the 001-0 Section at approximately
7:30 a.m. The section had been developed with seven headings by
a previous operator. There were four rooms driven off the No. 7
entry.
Mining began in the No. 3 room off the No. 7 entry. Darrell
Sanders, Continuous Mining Machine Operator, started the cut, and
was later relieved for lunch by Sheldon Gray, Shuttle Car
Operator, who operated the continuous mining machine during
completion of the cut. Gray then trammed the continuous mining
machine to the No. 1 room and Robert Smith, Roof Bolting Machine
Operator, began the roof bolting cycle in the No. 3 room.
Gray began cutting coal in the No. 1 room and loaded two shuttle
cars. Sanders returned from lunch and began operating the
continuous mining machine while Gray returned to operating a
shuttle car. After loading one more shuttle car, Sanders was
directed by Carl Hamilton, Secretary/Treasurer, and Clayton
Linkous, Mine Foreman, to cease mining in the No. 1 room due to
sandstone in the mine floor.
Sanders trammed the continuous mining machine to the face of the
No. 7 entry and began to cut and load coal. The shuttle car
operators floated each other out for lunch during the cut.
Sanders attempted to keep the continuous mining machine from
cutting the soft shale mine floor. He backed out numerous times
to grade the bottom, thereby extending the time needed for a
complete cut of coal.
After completing a 20 foot cut, Sanders backed the continuous
mining machine out and cleaned up the mine floor. The continuous
mining machine and Gray's shuttle car were moved outby
approximately 25 feet. Sanders stopped the continuous mining
machine to move the machine power cable and waterline. Linkous,
Hamilton, and James Steele, Repairman, walked up the right side
of the machine to a position near the loading pan to look at the
metal sideboards. At approximately 1:10 p.m., Gray was looking
back over his shoulder when he observed a large section of mine
roof fall, striking Sanders, Steele, Hamilton and Linkous. The
fallen roof measured approximately 50 feet long by 1 to 17 feet
wide and ranged from 3 inches to 4 1/2 feet thick. Gray ran to
the accident scene and observed Hamilton (Injured) crawling from
the edge of the fall. Hamilton and Sanders (Injured) retreated
to safety, while Steele (Injured) and Linkous (Victim) were
trapped.
Gray, on instructions from Hamilton, went to gather other crew
members. He notified the roof bolting machine crew and then took
the battery-powered scoop tractor, used on the section, to the
loading point for timbers and cribbing material. He called
outside, reported the accident, asked for more cribbing material
and then trammed the scoop tractor to the accident scene. Rick
Fletcher, Weekly Examiner, took the call and immediately
contacted the Wise Rescue Squad, the Mine Safety and Health
Administration (MSHA), and the Virginia Department of Mines,
Minerals, and Energy (DMME) and then traveled to the section on a
track-mounted personnel carrier. Hamilton, Sanders, Smith,
Francis, Ronnie Hileman, Shuttle Car Operator, and Jimmy Haywood,
Roof Bolting Machine Operator, removed enough of the fallen roof
material to free Steele, and beg an searching for Linkous. Gray
then attempted to raise the cutter-head of the continuous mining
machine, with remote and manual controls, with no success.
Hamilton located Linkous' cap light by looking up the right side
of the continuous mining machine. The crew began to install
supplemental roof supports (cribs and timbers) for additional
protection.
At approximately 3:40 p.m., Fletcher transported Steele and
Sanders to the surface where they were transported by Wise Rescue
Squad to St. Mary's Hospital. Sanders was treated and released
and Steele was hospitalized. Hamilton was brought to the surface
at 6:20 p.m. and was later treated and released at Johnston
Memorial Hospital in Abingdon, Virginia.
Recovery efforts continued with the assistance of MSHA and DMME
personnel. Linkous was recovered from the fall at 7:15 p.m. and
transported to the surface, arriving there at 8:10 p.m. He was
transported by the Wise Rescue Squad to Norton Community
Hospital, arriving at 8:35 p.m. He was pronounced dead by Dr.
Linwood Briggs as a result of injuries which had occurred at
1:14 p.m.
PHYSICAL FACTORS INVOLVED
The investigation revealed the following factors relevant to the investigation.
- Tuesday, July 15, 1997 was the first production shift by
Minutemen Coal Company, Inc. employees at Mine #5. The mine
was reactivated on Monday, July 14 after being idle for
approximately four months.
- The Approved Roof Control Plan allowed for cut depths of 30
feet. However, the cut taken in the No. 7 entry prior to
the accident was only 20 feet deep and 20 feet wide.
- This mine had experienced one roof fall in an outby area
during the past 12 months.
- The 001-0 Section was bolted to standard utilizing 36 inch
conventional roof bolts.
- The section of mine roof that fell was a large slip
measuring approximately 50 feet long, 1 to 17 feet wide, and
from 3 inches to 4 1/2 feet thick. The slip broke at full
thickness at the face of the No. 7 entry and continued to
the outby intersection. Roof bolts were broken at the edges
of the fall and the caved area was above the anchorage
horizon at the apex of the slip.
- The slip was nearly parallel to the direction of the No. 7
entry.
- The Joy 14CM10 Continuous Mining Machine was not equipped
with an operator's deck and was operated by remote control.
- There was no unusual roof activity during the mining of the
cut in the No. 7 entry. All crew members stated that the
roof appeared in good condition. A shuttle car operator
small crack in the mine roof over his shuttle car. The
crack had not been there, he thought, before his lunch
break. He stated that there were no audible or visible
signs of roof movement and that he felt the mine roof was in
a safe condition.
- The Dorchester Coal Seam averages 42 inches in thickness at
this mine. The mining height at the scene of the accident
was 68 to 70 inches.
- Examination of a test hole located in the intersection of
the last open crosscut and the No. 7 entry approximately 45
feet outby the face, revealed a horizontal crack in the mine
roof at 39 inches.
- All face areas were supported in accordance with the
Approved Roof Control Plan.
- There were no training deficiencies relevant to the
accident.
CONCLUSION
The accident occurred when mining was conducted beneath an area
of roof that contained a large, undetected roof slip. The roof,
weakened by the slip, fell without warning, starting in the
freshly mined and unsupported face area. The fall continued
outby, where the momentum of the falling roof overcame the
permanent roof support installed in the intersection.
ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS
There were no violations of 30 CFR which contributed to the
occurrence of the accident observed during the accident
investigation.
The following order was issued:
A 103-K Order No. 4377129 was issued to ensure the safety of
all persons in the mine until an investigation was completed
and the area deemed safe to work.
Respectfully submitted :
Benjamin S. Harding
Mining Engineer
Charles E. Upchurch
CMS&H Inspector
Approved:
Ray McKinney
District Manager
Related Fatal Alert Bulletin:
 FAB97C18
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