Sad and Tragic Recovery Accident in AZ.

[Too many Kubotas]

One of the things that one needs to discuss is how in the heck does one get their vehicle buried up to the axles in the middle of the desert?

You've never driven on a wet dry lake, or a sand bar in a river?

 

[CliffordK]

Possibly the pin sheared and it came back through the Windshield and killed the driver. I believe there was a child in the cab too.

One can debate whether or not the driver should be in the towed vehicle. Someone suggested earlier in this thread putting the hood up which might have protected the windshield. All other passengers should have been standing back at a safe distance.

More than a "Pin" sheering.

Another Tow Ball Tragedy - RIP Ryan - Warning graphic images

Team, Another tragic death from a recovery gone wrong with a towball. Please share this as I think it is really important that people know the reason that you should never recovery off a tow ball. This happened just a couple of days ago in the US. Very tragic. This was shared on FB by...

4x4earth.com

That drop hitch is very tall. Hopefully it was engineered and tested to breaking. It appears to have an interchangeable ball on it, but I can't imagine it could be safe for pulling anything more than my little 1000 lb 4x8 utility trailer.

Even if the drop hitch hadn't broken, it could have put extreme torsion force on the receiver, and bent it.

 

[bcp]

A couple of articles with more details:

Father Killed In Off-Road Recovery Accident When Drop Hitch Snaps

Ryan Woods was only 43 years old when he was killed instantly by a tow hitch snapping back into his truck.

www.roadandtrack.com

Breaking down the deadly AZ incident – Colorado 4×4 Rescue & Recovery

www.co4x4rnr.org

Bruce

 

[Gord Baker]

That 8"± drop would greatly increase the leverage to the breaking point.

 

[Jstpssng]

That 8"± drop would greatly increase the leverage to the breaking point.

Especially since the drop wasn't designed for that type of abuse.

 

[bcp]

Some discussion about using a 3-ball hitch.

I noticed that Matt is now using one-piece pintle hooks.

Bruce

 

[SmallChange]

There is a power line, but too far away to be of much help unless one has a mile worth of straps.

Damn, that might have been enough to kill somebody in the next town over.

 

[BruceSH]

Sad truck recovery accident out of Arizona. Sad becuase the guy died, but also sad because his 3 kids were sitting in the back seat as a 30 lb. drop hitch came through the window and killed him. Could have been avoided, putting this here to remind us to not make a similar mistake.

Could have been avoided? I would say NOT. It is too bad the victim could not react to the threat in time but that would have most likely been impossible. Could have been avoided? Hardly likely.

Could have been prevented? Absolutely by properly fastening and lashing down everything you carry, and check your lug nuts too!

 

[Too many Kubotas]

Could have been avoided? I would say NOT. It is too bad the victim could not react to the threat in time but that would have most likely been impossible. Could have been avoided? Hardly likely.

Easily avoided if using the proper equipment, I think.

Maybe even with the wrong equipment, by simply attaching to that horrible ball mount up at the receiver tube level.

Safest would've been to use a heavy vehicle with a powerful enough winch. But I can't blame them for trying with what they had. After all, that's how we got a crew cab dually out of a very similar situation, using only a 4Runner and recovery straps.

 

[California]

How fast was she going? Yikes!

There was a Volvo ad (I don't think it ran in the US) where the child's doll on the rear package shelf was the only loose object. It went through the windshield, while 3 point seatbelts saved everyone.

 

[California]

Most everything has been covered in this thread. Here's one more point I learned reading an old edition of Moving The Earth: The Workbook of Excavation.

Nichols says no one appreciates how easy it is using heavy equipment to pull a heavy vehicle out of a stuck ...while leaving its axles behind.

And I haven't seen in this thread much emphasis on another technique, particularly when offroading alone: use a Farm Jack to lift. Then put some material under the tires, to get moving again. Or another favorite back when I had a Willys Wagon: lift by the back hitch, clear to the top of the jack, then tip over the jack to drop the tires to undisturbed ground next to the ruts.

 

[Furu]

There maybe disagreement on this comment as one poster said to never do it and another said they do it all the time but you have to be careful. Every time I have watched some idiot do the slack rope and drive and snatch technique I have cringed. It is beyond stupid! The shock loads are such that they can't be calculated or even estimated in the field because even as little as 6 inches more slack can changed the load put on the equipment by a phenomenal amount. In the ram video on the previous page who would have thought the kid would have done what he did. Never trust anyone you do not know VERY well to have anything to do with a recovery operation as their lack of predictable actions can and will kill you.

 

[dodge man]

A lot of it depends on the rope or tow strap. I have a tow strap and it doesn’t stretch that much. I’ve seen some, usually a rope, that stretch a lot and almost act like a bungee.