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A North Carolina machinist was killed earlier this month as a metal rod departed the high-speed lathe on which he worked, striking and killing him. The accident, which occurred at the Statesville machine shop facility of R.P Machine, happened as the victim, 62-year-old Leonard Key, of Mooresville, had been working on a lathe on the Cochran Street shop. A metal rod he was machining was ejected by the lathe at a high rate of speed and hit Key directly in…

A 21-year-old operator of the monorail at Walt Disney World died recently when the monorail he was piloting crashed into another train. Reports say the accident happened at the Transportation and Ticket Center where Disney patrons catch the monorail to the Magic Kingdom, Epcot and several Disney hotels. The operator, reported as Austin Wuennenberg, 21, of Kissimmee, was pronounced dead at the scene. Six patrons were also evaluated at the scene and released.   The two trains crashed on one…

A Kentucky machinist was killed last month when a generator malfunctioned during testing, allowing the air pressure inside the generator to pop a steel plate off its mounts, mortally striking the nearby worker. Milton White, 55, of Lewisburg, was killed instantly while he worked at the at Tennessee Valley Authority’s Paradise Fossil Plant. Reports say Muhlenberg County Coroner Tony Armour pronounced White dead at the scene. Workers employed to operate industrial machinery know theirs is a dangerous job. Yet adding…

A gas drilling rig worker was killed last month when he fell from a natural gas drilling rig, owned by Nomac Drilling Inc. of Towanda Township, PA, according to reports. The accident occurred while the worker was attempting to dislodge part of a platform as the drilling unit was being moved to another drilling hole site on the drilling pad. The handrail gave way and he fell approximately 20 feet. The victim suffered a severe head injury, reports say. The…

A pair of CareFlite crew members were killed in early July when their helicopter experienced mechanical problems and crashed near Dallas, TX, reports say. The Bell helicopter apparently lost its rotor after taking off from Grand Prairie, TX after a ground crew performed maintenance on it, reports say. The crash, which occurred near U.S. Highway 67 and Wyatt Road in rural Ellis County, started a large grass fire. The helicopter’s rotor was found about 100 yards from the wreckage; the…