Actually, the accident report EXPLAINED the physics involved to everyones satisfaction... Hitch point higher than ground contact point (...sufficient traction so as not to stop the tractor...enough torque supplied to rotate tractor around axle.....tied to object [combine] that was virtually "immovable" by virtue of being mired down deep in mud) .....and that was done by professionals (engineers) who made their living at that time by doing accident reconstruction. They were very familiar with machinery, seeing as to how they had done literally hundreds of investigations into mining accidents involving machinery. (Ky is a coal state) There never was any attempt to explain it away as "just magic". A solid, conclusive cause was found.
[[Physics as one interprets them to explain their opinion or agenda, and physics as they are used to explain reality as it plays out in everyday life are often two different concepts. The fact of the matter is, tractors CAN and DO flip backwards, sometimes in less than "incredible circumstances". At that point, one needs to stand back and take a long look at how their interpretation of applied physics fails to sync with simple facts. And far too often, people limit their view of facts to what they WANT to see, blinding their vision of what all there is to see. Most of this thread is pure conjecture, and very much an attempt to rationalize a number of personal opinions.] ......This does not mean that the physics is wrong. It means than some assumed conditions of the situation are not right. Thats why we need documentation.
It doesn't go unnoticed that we have a number of engineers on BOTH sides of the issue. Both sides have perfectly good rationale' as to why they believe what they believe. Toss in the FACT that tractors do occasionally flip backwards, and it's hard to see the validity in any argument that says it can't happen.
As for the circumstances of the accident;
We used one rear axle (left side) and the drawbar as lift points when we winched the tractor up to remove the body. I was one of the firefighters doing the rigging. (We had a military wrecker to lift with...) I don't recall the draw bar as having ANY bend in it. It was a straight draw bar (no offset up or down) On 4020's equipped with 34" rear tires, that drawbar is normally around 14". It extends roughly 12" to 14" behind the pto stub. The man killed was a hired hand on the farm where the accident occurred. This was in the days when OSHA was building their reputation. State medical examiners reports were reviewed by OSHA and found to be accurate and no fault was placed on farm owner/tractor manufacturer/ect....Plain and simple....These things happen. It was an accident.
I'm digging around in what fire dept archives I have access to, trying to find any more info, but early 80's is a little bit "pre computer era" in our FD. I've got a call in to the current chief, hoping he can supply me with written copies if they still exist, but even with that, enough time has passed where I'm trusting most of this to memory.
