Alert 07 – 39 Wire Rope Parted Results in a High Potential Near Miss
WHAT HAPPENED:
While racking back a stand of 6-1/2″ drill collars, the winch line used at the monkey board to rack the drill collars parted. This allowed the collar to swing into the back of the derrick and in the process struck the rig tong cable sheave bracket. After the Driller began lowering the blocks the bracket itself dropped to the rig floor from approximately 20 meters (66 feet). The vibration from the derrick aided in breaking the remainder of the bracket weld off. No one was aware of this until the bracket actually fell. No personnel were injured. The bracket fell approximately 2 meters (6.6 feet) from one a floormen.