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Aircraft firm sentenced over work at height failures

Safety failures were to blame for injuries to three workers in separate falls from height, a court ruled upon sentencing a Hampshire-based aircraft maintenance company.

The incidents, which occurred at ATC (Lasham) Ltd, took place during 2011. A subsequent Health and Safety investigation exposed a raft of safety breaches.

After the hearing at Salisbury Crown Court, HSE inspector Kelly Nichols said: “Three workers have suffered painful injuries owing to inadequate safe systems of work employed by ATC (Lasham) – which is particularly disappointing given it is a major company working in a particularly safety-critical sector.”

Health and safety failures

The Health and Safety Executive’s investigation established the circumstances surrounding each workplace injury.

• The first safety incident: An employee, who was repairing a faulty door on 9th July 2011, fell five metres from an aircraft door to the runway tarmac. At first, the worker’s injuries were thought to be life-threatening.
• The second safety incident: A contractor, three weeks later on 27th July 2011, suffered a broken knee after a weld gave way on a scissor lift.
• The third safety incident: Another employee incurred three fractures to their thumb when they fell from an aircraft stand that had no guardrail between the aircraft and the stand steps.

Unsafe systems of work

In the case of all the incidents, the HSE found ATC had failed to provide a safe plant and a safe system of work for the three men. The court heard:

• There was an absence of safe procedures for working at height
• The company provide unsuitable and unmaintained equipment
• General poor management was found onsite

The HSE had served a number of prohibition notices following each incident ordering the cessation of certain areas of work and improvement notices requiring better working practices.

HSE inspector Ms Nichols commented: “The company’s management of health and safety was extremely poor in many areas but particularly in their approach to working at height.  Three falls occurred in a relatively short period and these could have resulted in even more serious injuries.

“Working at height needs careful planning and organisation, and part of that is selecting and using the right type of equipment, which is properly maintained and safe.”

ATC (Lasham) Ltd, of Lasham Airfield, Lasham, Hampshire, admitted three breaches of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined a total of £35,000 and ordered to pay £32,430 in costs.