Man killed trying to separate PTO shaft with tractor

[Kyle_in_Tex]

IMO, the tractor wheelied over. Front end came over and flipped, like the article stated.

 

[Fuddy1952]

I don't claim to be a farmer although around tractors all my life. I had my share of close calls but was lucky.
My JD cuts off if PTO is on and I get out of seat. There's no reason imho to be near a running PTO. Neighbor's Dad got his shirt caught in one. He survived luckily since shirt ripped off of him.

 

[Shaneard]

I don't claim to be a farmer although around tractors all my life. I had my share of close calls but was lucky.
My JD cuts off if PTO is on and I get out of seat. There's no reason imho to be near a running PTO. Neighbor's Dad got his shirt caught in one. He survived luckily since shirt ripped off of him.

I twisted my best friend around a auger pto shaft once digging fence post holes, I heard his death scream and immediately shut the tractor off. He had a flannel shirt on and it got hung on the pto shaft. I had to cut his shirt off him to get him loose. One more second and it would have been much worse. I learned a valuable lesson that day.

 

[cqaigy2]

and if he had chained it to the drawbar under the tractors chassis, there is no way for the tractor to flip over backwards.

Not unless he ran out of enough torque to tip the tractor up. You dropped the center, but unless you unhook your tractor, it can still come up.

 

[Diggin It]

IMO, the tractor wheelied over. Front end came over and flipped, like the article stated.

Where does it say that?

 

[ruffdog]

Most of the time we are lucky when we do our work in a possibly risky fashion. It is sad that this man was not lucky on his final day.

 

[CobyRupert]

I twisted my best friend around a auger pto shaft once digging fence post holes, I heard his death scream and immediately shut the tractor off. He had a flannel shirt on and it got hung on the pto shaft. I had to cut his shirt off him to get him loose. One more second and it would have been much worse. I learned a valuable lesson that day.

Holy cow!


That could go awful in a second.

So sorry for the family. With more details, the story could be a lesson for others. Like others have said, even them mentioning a PTO shaft is a lot more detail than most stories.

How did it happen?: Are there really any tractors that have a pto connection above the axle? It seems very, very unlikely the pto shaft was connected to the tractor's pto spline. You'd break castings and bearing if you used this connection as a pulling point, and it's not high enough to flip the tractor backwards even if you did; and no way would turning PTO on flip a tractor sideways like a rotisserie.
It's seems very likely he chained the PTO shaft to the tractor (like the story says) at a point above the rear axles that causes the tractor to rotate backwards.

The lesson is: Don't do that!

Many people don't know not to do that. Example, India has a billion people, and if you've ever watched tractor videos from there, not 1 in a billion knows not to do that!

 

[Diggin It]

I'd never been on a tractor of any size before I got mine six months ago, but I knew from mowers and other things that you would want to connect as low to the center of gravity as possible if you were going to try to pull and keep the front end down. But for all we know, he may have been connected low, but was on a slope, or in soft ground and some motion caused him to go sideways.

 

[TractorGuy]

Always sad to hear of an accidental death.

I had to pull a stuck shaft apart once but I didn't have it connected to the pto shaft of the tractor. I think I ran a bolt and chain through both ujoints. Been a long time ago.

 

[RandyT]

and if he had chained it to the drawbar under the tractors chassis, there is no way for the tractor to flip over backwards.

Being an older Oliver tractor I suspect it was connected to the drawbar, and yes the older tractors had light front ends and would pull the front end off the ground and tip over backwards. Many a farmer was killed when plowing and the moldboard would catch a stump or something, and over they would go.

 

[Turbys_1700]

Being an older Oliver tractor I suspect it was connected to the drawbar, and yes the older tractors had light front ends and would pull the front end off the ground and tip over backwards. Many a farmer was killed when plowing and the moldboard would catch a stump or something, and over they would go.

That is what I suspect happened. But we don't know for with exact certainly. Prayers to his family.

 

[shooterdon]

I try to learn from reports like this. I cannot picture what happened or what the man was doing. My lack of experience is showing. Less than a year of tractor ownership.

But it does remind me to think about what I am doing and not to attempt things I have no knowledge of.

I expect if he had posted his problem on this forum he would have received some good advice and still be alive. Thankfully, you guys put up with some of the "dumb" questions guys like me ask.

 

[CobyRupert]

I try to learn from reports like this. I cannot picture what happened or what the man was doing. My lack of experience is showing. Less than a year of tractor ownership.

But it does remind me to think about what I am doing and not to attempt things I have no knowledge of.

I expect if he had posted his problem on this forum he would have received some good advice and still be alive. Thankfully, you guys put up with some of the "dumb" questions guys like me ask.

We don't know exactly what he was doing.
However, normal PTO shafts need to "telescope", where a inner shaft slides in an outer shaft, so that they can be hooked/unhooked, and so it's length can change when the implement is raised or lowered, or when the tractor goes into a dip, or otherwise needs to change its overall length.
Sometimes these shafts get bent or twisted so that one part no longer slides in the other, and is unusable. In fact, if it becomes rigid, raising the implement might result in the pto shaft putting tremendous pressure on the tractor's pto spline, and can damage it, because the shaft can't slide on itself and adjust its overall length.
Getting the two sections that slide within each other apart once they are bent (or twisted) is very hard, this is possibly why he had one end chained to a tree and was pulling other end with a tractor.

If you are pulling with a tractor where the load's connection point is ABOVE the height of the rear axle, the pulling forces will rotate the front of the tractor up and tractor wants to flip over backwards.
Connection point to tractor should be below the height of the rear axle so pulling forces rotate front of tractor down.
View attachment Tractor Overturn Hazards 202[1].pdf

 

[k0ua]

Holy cow!


That could go awful in a second.

So sorry for the family. With more details, the story could be a lesson for others. Like others have said, even them mentioning a PTO shaft is a lot more detail than most stories.

How did it happen?: Are there really any tractors that have a pto connection above the axle? It seems very, very unlikely the pto shaft was connected to the tractor's pto spline. You'd break castings and bearing if you used this connection as a pulling point, and it's not high enough to flip the tractor backwards even if you did; and no way would turning PTO on flip a tractor sideways like a rotisserie.
It's seems very likely he chained the PTO shaft to the tractor (like the story says) at a point above the rear axles that causes the tractor to rotate backwards.

The lesson is: Don't do that!

Many people don't know not to do that. Example, India has a billion people, and if you've ever watched tractor videos from there, not 1 in a billion knows not to do that!

^^ This. What he said.

 

[Fuddy1952]

I twisted my best friend around a auger pto shaft once digging fence post holes, I heard his death scream and immediately shut the tractor off. He had a flannel shirt on and it got hung on the pto shaft. I had to cut his shirt off him to get him loose. One more second and it would have been much worse. I learned a valuable lesson that day.

My friend/neighbor is an older dairy farmer, farming his whole life. Last Fall he heard me augering posts in, comes over to help, grabs the auger top to get it "straight". I shut down immediately! I can move tractor a little in need be, and posts are all set level and tamped in. He should know better, but he's fearless, does things I wouldn't dream of doing.
Today I was helping a contractor by cutting purlins very high up. I used my electric pole saw and short ladder. Very quick, easy and safe. He said "You was thinking weren't you?"
My bet is the survivor of every accident would say they should have thought differently, taken a little more time, waited for help, etc.
A hospital bill will buy you a whole lot of tools that make life easier.
Dad (rip) fell from 8 feet onto his back at 64, never was the same...passed at 88.

 

[lilranch2001]

I too have learned to be much more cautious and cognizant of what "could" happen thanks to discussions and articles on TBN, along with just losing my younger "devil may care" attitude.

May god take this fella quickly to heaven!

 

[lilranch2001]

NO not clear at all!

Tell me what is clear about this?

" During this time, the tractor flipped over and Mills was killed in the incident."

1) How did the tractor flip?
2) Did the tractor flip froward or side to side
3) Was he on the tractor?
4) Was he standing next to the tractor and using his hand to press the accelerator?
5) was he on a hill?
6) was the ground level
7) was these snow and ice on the ground?
8) Was he killed instanlely from the tractor or did he lay there for a week before help arrived
9) Was his leg pinned and died of exposure and if found earlier he would be alive and you all should go ahear and use his method just have two people?
10)Did he hit and engage the pto which caused the tractor to spin on it's axis.

Seems you're the ONLY one on the planet that seems to be "pretty clear" on this story, while the rest of us are not at all clear what happened
and have just a few questions - obviously!

Thanks Cat, I was wondering many of the same questions that a good reporter could have passed on to edify the tractor market that surely would be interested in Michigan!

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Where does it say that?

You'll have to give me your location so I can determine what "flipped" means in your corridor...

 

[D2Cat]

Kyle, some folks don't read their owner's manual...how can you expect them to read a complete article posted in an internet link? Time is valuable, comprehension is low. You have to copy and paste the words that support your comments to make it clear!

Directly from the article, "It appeared to deputies that Mills was trying to expand a power take off shaft on a mower and had it chained to a tree and to the tractor in an attempt to pull it open. During this time, the tractor flipped over and Mills was killed in the incident."

 

[Cat_Driver]

You'll have to give me your location so I can determine what "flipped" means in your corridor...

Yes wht does "flipped" actually mean. "Flipped" is a vague and ambiguous term so YES please do explain EXACTLY how the tractor "flipped" inquiring minds want to know. .

Did it flip 45 degrees Vertically
Did it flip 90 degrees Vertically
Did it flip 80 degrees Vertically
Did it flip 180 degrees Vertically
Did it flip 45 degrees Perpendicularly
Did it flip 90 degrees Perpendicularly
Did it flip 80 degrees Perpendicularly
Did it flip 180 degrees Perpendicularly
Did it flip 45 degrees Horizontalv
Did it flip 90 degrees Horizontal
Did it flip 80 degrees Horizontal
Did it flip 180 degrees Horizontal
Did it flip 45 degrees Uprightly
Did it flip 90 degrees Uprightly
Did it flip 80 degrees Uprightly
Did it flip 180 degrees Uprightly
Did it flip 45 degrees To the left?
Did it flip 90 degrees To the left?
Did it flip 80 degrees To the left?
Did it flip 180 degrees To the left?
Did it flip 45 degrees To the right?
Did it flip 90 degrees To the right?
Did it flip 80 degrees To the right?
Did it flip 180 degrees To the right?