The Aug. 29, 2023, death of a forklift operator at Boston’s Logan International Airport may have been prevented if his employer had ensured proper safeguards for operating and maintaining forklifts, an Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspection has found.
The man’s employer, Rochester, the New York-based Oxford Airport Technical Services, a maintenance firm, failed to ensure the worker wore a seat belt while operating the forklift, exposing him to rollover and crushing hazards, the investigators claim.
The employee was attempting to drive a forklift into a building when the vehicle’s forks and mast struck the overhang of the entrance, causing the forklift to tip over. The operator, who was not wearing a seatbelt, fell to the ground, and the tipping vehicle fatally struck him.
OSHA also determined that the forklift’s forks and mast were not raised only as far as necessary to clear the road surface and all forklift operators were not properly trained and certified.
These and other violations resulted in OSHA issuing four serious citations with $46,096 in proposed penalties.
Oxford Airport Technical Services has 15 business days to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before an independent OSHA review panel.
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