Alert 09 – 15 Near Miss – Dropped Casing When Elevators Not Latched Correctly
Alert 09 – 15 Near Miss – Dropped Casing When Elevators Not Latched Correctly
WHAT HAPPENED:
A joint of 13 3/8 inch casing fell down the v-door and continued off the catwalk when the Single Joint Casing Elevators (SJE) were not latched and pinned correctly. The incident occurred on the 60th joint of casing being run. A check of the SJE after the incident verified that the elevators DID NOT FAIL and that the cause of the incident was induced by human error. The investigation team established that the SJE were only partially latched. This left enough room to insert the pin behind the latching device instead of in its proper position in front of the latching device and acting as a retaining safety pin. The safety retainer pin was still inserted after the incident. The latcher on the rig floor did not know the elevators were not fully latched. With the winch line and sling removed from the joint of casing the driller was signaled to pick up the casing. When the weight was taken up on the SJE under the collar of the casing the SJE opened and the casing fell out and eventually came to rest against the wire line unit off the catwalk. The consequence of this incident was slight damage to the wire line unit with the potential for a fatality.