Aviation firm fined over worker fall
January 21st 13:49 Health and Safety
Following a successful prosecution by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) a Southend-based aviation company has been fined £2,400 following the fall of an aircraft painter.
Air Livery was handed the fine by Bristol Magistrates and ordered to pay £9, 162.54 in court costs after pleading guilty to breaches of the Work at Height Regulation 2005.
Aircraft painter Robert Lupton was left with damaged ligaments and a broken elbow and has been unable to work since the incident at a base in Filton, Bristol in October 2007.
The importance of effective facilities management has been highlighted by the event after it was revealed Mr Lupton had no safety preventions in place while working on the wing of a craft five meters above the hangar floor.
HSE Inspector, Christine Haberfield, said: "Air Livery should have taken the steps necessary to protect its workers by putting fall protection in place and checking to ensure that workers were using it.
"Everything may have appeared OK on paper but the practice on the ground encouraged painters to work ahead of themselves and without adequate protection. In this respect this was an accident waiting to happen - which it did, of course, to Mr Lupton."
