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Not directly saddle related: Falling out of a bucket truck

I hope that guy is ok. There’s an incredible force on him when the tree kicks back and that’s followed by the shock force when he falls and hits the end of his tether. He may also have smashed his head against the tree when he was suspended…
 
He looked slumped over after everything was said and done. He didn't look good at all. I pray he is ok as well
 
"Welp, think I will call it a day." I'm not sure hitting the ground wouldnt have been a little better in that situation. Other than the risk of ending up under the log which would have been way worse.
 
One of our linemen was up in a bucket when the transformer arc flashed over to his bucket and caught it on fire. Luckily he was able to get down ok but seeing that bucket just go up in flames was unreal. Buckets are great and provide a lot of safety but they can also be a death trap.
 
woodsdog2 said:
One of our linemen was up in a bucket when the transformer arc flashed over to his bucket and caught it on fire. Luckily he was able to get down ok but seeing that bucket just go up in flames was unreal. Buckets are great and provide a lot of safety but they can also be a death trap.
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No where to run to… that bucket can’t get out of the way fast enough.
 
He should have been moving away once it started to fall, sometimes the cutter will stay in the pocket to further cut if needed. That big of tree, once it starts to fall there’s no correcting the path of fall by more cutting.
The top of the tree hit the ground before the trunk released causing it slightly push back, and then fall over sideways. He possibly got the worst injuries by being forced out of the bucket.
 
I don’t even know where to begin, first that’s not a bucket truck, yes an aerial lift of some sort but it looks to be probably a tracked rig like people rent to paint houses, there was so many mistakes made in that video anyone who does this for a living would never have put themselves in that position, attempting to drop what looks to be a giant redwood or something idk what the heck it is, but 20’ up from the stump, a tree of that size, from a bucket you have to be out of your mind, when I’m topping a tree 65’ up from my bucket and what’s left is bigger than I can comfortably push with my hands in case the wind blows up or I misjudged something, it gets a rope in it, end of story, one hand on the saw and the other on the pistol grip, minute that sucker starts to go I’m swinging out of the way, not watching it like a deer caught in the head lights, having a safety harness on was the least of this guys worries, someone needs a mental health check to even be involved in such a stunt let alone allow that video to go public.
 
Topdog said:
I don’t even know where to begin, first that’s not a bucket truck, yes an aerial lift of some sort but it looks to be probably a tracked rig like people rent to paint houses, there was so many mistakes made in that video anyone who does this for a living would never have put themselves in that position, attempting to drop what looks to be a giant redwood or something idk what the heck it is, but 20’ up from the stump, a tree of that size, from a bucket you have to be out of your mind, when I’m topping a tree 65’ up from my bucket and what’s left is bigger than I can comfortably push with my hands in case the wind blows up or I misjudged something, it gets a rope in it, end of story, one hand on the saw and the other on the pistol grip, minute that sucker starts to go I’m swinging out of the way, not watching it like a deer caught in the head lights, having a safety harness on was the least of this guys worries, someone needs a mental health check to even be involved in such a stunt let alone allow that video to go public.
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I put a rope in tops most times. But then again, I'm never in a bucket, I'm in the circle of death.

We can't see the full video, but my guess is he made a $hitty cut + the tree made contact with something that made it roll
 
TreeRecon said:
I put a rope in tops most times. But then again, I'm never in a bucket, I'm in the circle of death.

We can't see the full video, but my guess is he made a $hitty cut + the tree made contact with something that made it roll
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Circle of death… give me a break… I’ve owned a tree service business 21 years, and before that worked in other tree departments for major municipalities, so 26 years of total experience, if anyone can attempt to process what that fool was thinking when attempting this stunt they don’t belong in the business, I’ll move along now and go back to the deer hunting threads, I’m done with this one..
 
Topdog said:
Circle of death… give me a break… I’ve owned a tree service business 21 years, and before that worked in other tree departments for major municipalities, so 26 years of total experience, if anyone can attempt to process what that fool was thinking when attempting this stunt they don’t belong in the business, I’ll move along now and go back to the deer hunting threads, I’m done with this one..
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So you're saying you don't climb :)

Years in the business doesn't mean much when the fatality rate is still so high. That means most tree guys don't know what they're doing due to lack of training
 
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TreeRecon said:
So you're saying you don't climb :)

Years in the business doesn't mean much when the fatality rate is still so high. That means most tree guys don't know what they're doing due to lack of training
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I only know of one company in my area that wears hard hats. The rest I guess don’t have anything to protect
 
If you’ve never watched fail tube before you probably shouldn’t begin. A lot of idiocy out in the world. Another reason why I question the logic of Darwin.
 
Topdog said:
Circle of death… give me a break… I’ve owned a tree service business 21 years, and before that worked in other tree departments for major municipalities, so 26 years of total experience, if anyone can attempt to process what that fool was thinking when attempting this stunt they don’t belong in the business, I’ll move along now and go back to the deer hunting threads, I’m done with this one..
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Dude that video is wild and I hope that man is ok.
Someone made reference to fall force and someone made reference to “long tether”…. Fall arrest harnesses like the one he was wearing have a lanyard connection that stretches to 6’. While stretching, it is absorbing some of the fall force. In this instance the snap back from that tree knocked the whole bucket and arm which seemed to catapult him out of it. While it may have increased his force, it’s likely the contact with the tree itself probably hurt as much or more than the force of the fall but there is no way of telling. I do not believe falling all the way to the ground at the speed he came out of the bucket would have been any safer or better for him though… While I can’t speak to the “circle of death” ie the cone of danger, or the right or wrong way to fell as tree of that size, I can say that what he was in wasn’t a bucket truck but rather one of those hydraulic armed pull behind trailer with a bucket on it. While they function similarly, they are nowhere as steady or secure as a high line bucket truck due to lack of weight. I worked for a cheap company years and years ago that only had a couple of bucket trucks and the rest of us were stuck with a bucket style trailer like the one in this video and just standard moves up and down without being extended would make the whole bucket and trailer jump around. They are horrible and I’d never recommend using one to anyone.
 
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Fl Canopy Stalker said:
Dude that video is wild and I hope that man is ok.
Someone made reference to fall force and someone made reference to “long tether”…. Fall arrest harnesses like the one he was wearing have a lanyard connection that stretches to 6’. While stretching, it is absorbing some of the fall force. In this instance the snap back from that tree knocked the whole bucket and arm which seemed to catapult him out of it. While it may have increased his force, it’s likely the contact with the tree itself probably hurt as much or more than the force of the fall but there is no way of telling. I do not believe falling all the way to the ground at the speed he came out of the bucket would have been any safer or better for him though… While I can’t speak to the “circle of death” ie the cone of danger, or the right or wrong way to fell as tree of that size, I can say that what he was in wasn’t a bucket truck but rather one of those hydraulic armed pull behind trailer with a bucket on it. While they function similarly, they are nowhere as steady or secure as a high line bucket truck bus to lack of weight. I worked for a cheap company years and years ago that only had a couple of bucket trucks and the rest of us were stuck with a bucket style trailer like the one in this video and just standard moves up and down without being extended would make the whole bucket and trailer jump around. They are horrible and I’d never recommend using one to anyone.
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That video had weekend warrior written all over it. There are very few weeks that go buy where I don’t hear somone talking about how expensive a quote was for a professional tree job. And there’s a good reason why professionals fetch the rates they do. Unfortunately it creates a situation where it’s lucrative for guys with some experience to do cut rate sidework. But this is the stuff that happens to folks with enough knowledge to be dangerous.
 
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