Scoop operator Greg Byers, 43, received crushing injuries and died on July 31 at ICG Beckley’s Beckley Pocahontas mine in Eccles, Raleigh County.

He had been caught between the coal rib and a battery-powered scoop he was operating.

“The victim was attempting to change the scoop's batteries at a battery charging station, located four crosscuts outby the No. 2 section,” officials said.

“The accident occurred when another scoop, traveling in an outby direction in the adjacent No. 3 roadway entry, impacted and moved the scoop with Byers, pinning the victim between the scoop's canopy and the coal rib.”

The other scoop was operated by David Thompson.

Byers, who had five years mining experience and certification cards from West Virginia, Kentucky and Alabama, was pronounced dead at a local medical center at about 6pm the same day.

An investigative review of the victim’s required training found all requirements to be adequate and up-to-date.

MSHA also evaluated the Fairchild 35C-WHL and 35C-WH-AC scoops involved in the incident and found no equipment-related failures or violations identified as contributing to the accident.

“The No. 11 scoop operated by Thompson had bags of rock dust stacked up on the machine frame to an approximate height of 8 inches, which left an opening of 16 inches for Thompson to see through,” officials said, noting that the location and height of the rock dust bags obstructed the driver’s view when the machine reversed.

In the end, that issue was concluded to be contributory to the event that took Byers’ life.

“The accident occurred because mine management allowed the battery charging station for the No. 8 scoop to be installed in a manner that did not provide sufficient space to prevent the bucket of the scoop from extending out into the section's roadway entry while it was parked in the crosscut for charging,” MSHA concluded in its probe.

“Additionally, the No. 11 scoop, which impacted the No. 8 scoop at the battery charging station, had bags of rock dust stacked on the machine's frame, behind the operator's compartment, which obscured the scoop operator's view while he was tramming the machine in reverse.

“The canopy viewing area [opening] was 16 inches.

“However, the viewing area was reduced by eight inches with the presence of the bags of rock dust.”

To rectify the root cause, the operator was ordered to reconfigure all battery charging stations at the mine, which are installed in crosscuts of travelways or roadways, to provide sufficient space to prevent any part of the machine or equipment from extending into the adjacent roadway or travelway.

MSHA also required stoppings and battery charging stations to be relocated physically to address this hazard.

Additionally, the scoops and all other mobile equipment operating at the mine must be maintained “such that supplies or other extraneous material be positioned or located on the machines in such a manner that it does not obstruct the operator's visibility from the machine operator's compartment while operating the machine,” MSHA said.

The agency issued a 314(b) safeguard on August 1 for the configuration and location of the scoop charging station.

It also issued a 314(b) safeguard the same day for the stacked bags of rock dust.

The room and pillar Beckley Pocahontas mine employed 285 people at the time of the accident, 246 underground and 39 at the surface.

It produces an average of 7000 raw tons of coal per day and liberates 4.4 million cubic feet of methane in a 24-hour period.

It is on a five-day 103(i) spot inspection schedule for excessive methane.

The last regular federal inspection of the mine was completed June 28, just one month before the accident.

The mine’s non-fatal days lost injury incidence rate was 3.23 in 2011, versus the national rate of 3.36 for underground mines.