How did this Tractor Flip?

[cartod]

I came across this photo of an accident that happened last year and was trying to figure out what the operator did wrong. Any thoughts?

 

[sfloggie]

From the photo, the guy drove under a firm, set support with wires and it pulled the tractor back and over. This guy must have been moving fast until he wasn't!

 

[cartod]

From the photo, the guy drove under a firm, set support with wires and it pulled the tractor back and over. This guy must have been moving fast until he wasn't!

I was leaning towards too much down weight in the trailer coupled with the fact that It looks like he was pulling from the 3 point, up an incline. But I do see the overhead support there that could have caught the ROPS?????

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

I don't have a theory on how it happened, but I fear the outcome was not a good one for the operator. That looks like a tragedy.

 

[DFB]

2 wheel drive and looks like it was pulling that load up an incline

"when a tractor is in a deep hole, or is traveling up a steep incline, the distance between the tractor’s CG and rear stability baseline is narrowed. If excessive rear axle torque is applied, the tractor will reach the “point of no return” more quickly."

Tractor Overturn Hazards — Agricultural Safety and Health — Penn State Extension

just my guess

 

[Thomas]

Road looks to have dip might have cause loaded trailer to drag,tractor lost traction operator back up little than jump clutch to go forward.

Hope the operator okay..looks nasty.

 

[cartod]

The operator lived but was injured.

 

[bcp]

Photo from:
SunLive - Tractor accident victims stable - The Bay's News First


From:
Man hurt in freak tractor accident - Bay of Plenty Times - Bay of Plenty Times News


Maketu Fire Brigade chief Shane Beech said the man had been towing a trailer loaded with three to four bins of kiwifruit.

"He came up on to a rise at the end of a kiwifruit vine and the tractor flipped backwards on to the trailer," Mr Beech said. "He managed to get himself out, we don't know how. He had quite a few injuries."

 

[cartod]

Yea, they call it a freak accident, but really there should be nothing freak about it. It sure looks like there was no rops. It also looks like there is no draw bar.

 

[aczlan]

The trailer looks a lot like the bin trailers that are used in the orchards around here which connect to the 3 point rather than to the drawbar.

Aaron Z

 

[Mechanos]

Yea, they call it a freak accident, but really there should be nothing freak about it. It sure looks like there was no rops. It also looks like there is no draw bar.

The freak part of it was that the operator escape with his life.

 

[LJH]

Glad he isn't dead and wishing both him and the youngster a full recovery.

 

[Josh Shoemaker]

Weight. That trailer is loaded to the gills with what looks like potatoes. Pulling up a incline with that much weight I imagine would bring the front end up like that. Not sure if there were any counter weights on the front or not but that could have been the cause. Just to much weight for the tractor.

 

[cartod]

Weight. That trailer is loaded to the gills with what looks like potatoes. Pulling up a incline with that much weight I imagine would bring the front end up like that. Not sure if there were any counter weights on the front or not but that could have been the cause. Just to much weight for the tractor.

I don't think the weight was the problem as much as the way it was distributed. If he was indeed using the 3 point instead of the draw bar. If he were using the draw bar instead of the 3 point, too much weight should have just made the tractor break traction, not flip.

 

[DT86]

... But I do see the overhead support there that could have caught the ROPS?????

I not seeing any ROPS on that old girl.

 

[k0ua]

I don't see a drawbar, and I don't see a ROPS. the one is why the tractor flipped the other is why the operator is injured.. It could have been much worse, the Operators usually die.

James K0UA

 

[ctgoldwing]

I don't think the weight was the problem as much as the way it was distributed. If he was indeed using the 3 point instead of the draw bar. If he were using the draw bar instead of the 3 point, too much weight should have just made the tractor break traction, not flip.

I'm going with this too. My guess is his connection point to that trailer was to high above the CG of the tractor. One good pull against a significant mass like that fruit wagon would probably bring those front wheels right off the ground.
As other posters have mentioned it would have helped if he had front weights (to a point)

 

[travlitt]

To me it looks like he might have been traveling pretty fast as he came into the dip. If the trailer was connected to the 3pl and was to low, the front cross member could have dug into the ground. This could have stopped the forward travel of the trailer and caused the tractor to rotate on the real axle and flip over. You can see behind the rear tire of the trailer where it looks like the front cross member may have drug.

 

[rd_macgregor]

That overhead trellis wire just might have saved his life.

 

[milkman636]

He wasn't quick enough on the clutch. In my distant past I have done wheelies that required clutching while pulling heavy weight with the three point on level ground. All it takes is a little bump or soft spot in the ground that tries to change the speed of the trailer while the tractor wants to continue on its merry way. Those front ends are light and the tug will jerk the front end up quick.