Another Farmer killed in tractor accident

[Keith Molden]

A 70 year old farmer was killed yesterday in Frame. West Virginia. According to the WSAZ news, he had just finished baling a field of hay when his tractor rolled down a hill, across the road and turned upside down in a creek pinning him under the tractor. they didn't give any details of it other than that. As dry as it is here right now that grass can be awfully slick in a field that has just had the hay taken off and a lot of our older tractors jump out of gear just to name a couple things that can happen when hillside farming like we do in this area. Makes no difference what happened, our thoughts and prayers go out to his family. I didn't know him, but being like most of us, he has probably baled that field for several years and knew what he was doing with his tractor. We can all think the what ifs and whys but somehow something went terribly wrong. Be careful out there. keith

 

[Bob Bancroft]

Not much hill country right here. Thankfully, all the little old [they weren't at the time!] tractors I grew up running had good brakes. I've been horrified since to witness tractors with not much in the way of brakes.

 

[r.w.b.]

Sadening

 

[showcrop]

There is a lot of steep ground there.

 

[jacksun65]

I went on a KY hayride one time like that. I had a Kubota 6040 loaded tires front weights had a MF120 baler and wagon on behind. I hit a slope not a bad one and the whole rig went sliding strait down the hill. There was a flat spot halfway down and I got it turned lucky because the next section was steep.

 

[37chief]

I feel bad for the family. I had that happen a couple times. Sliding down a hill you have no steering, and no brakes, not fun. Years ago being in my part of California with no snow, us kids would get a piece of cardboard, and head to a steep hill full of dry grass hop on the cardboard and really fly down the hill. Just had watch out for the rocks. Stan

 

[Geo-TH,In]

Sad indeed.

 

[Traditional Farmer]

I've run tractors on steep land all my life,need big heavy tractors that out weighs the equipment.

 

[Billy Shafer]

With all due respect. But why does this continue to happen. We all know better but it goes own. I lost a very good friend from a roll over. We have lost two in this county. From some really stupig moves.I know people think it will not happen to me. But it does.

 

[DR. EVIL]

There's a little more to it than that. I was about 11-12 years old. Had a little odd shaped 2-3 acre patch of oats to combine that was the steepest hill on the 80 acres on one side and 2nd steepest on the other side. Had the Super M-TA on the Deere #25 combine, I had the '51 M on the good flare box wagon. Dad made 2-3 rounds and unloaded the combine's grain tank into the wagon, I pulled up to the top of the hill and stopped where I could see the combine all the way around the patch. I pulled the M into neutral and tapped the brake on the left rear wheel. There was a little pile of dry oat straw where the brake latches and the tire slid a little , gathered more straw, then a LOT more, and I was off on a sleigh ride down the hill. Wagon had less than 25 bushel in it. There was a big creek about 70-80 feet from the bottom of the hill, 8-10 ft deep and about that wide. I got the tractor stopped well before the creek. Dad didn't say anything until we were coming back to the house from doing chores, "I hope You learned something about stopping on hills this afternoon." Yep, don't do ANYTHING that breaks traction or your grip of the ground.
The M easily weighed twice maybe three times what the wagon weighed. The slick dry straw on the oat stubble was like ice, I always found a level place to stop after that.

 

[BigPapa53]

Very sad.

A good friend of mine was 16 when his father was killed on his M in a roll-over. They kept the tractor and restored in, and still used it quite a bit. 19 years later my friend was killed on the same tractor in the same field in the same type of accident that his father was. My friend's son still has the tractor, but it is only used for antique pulls and parades now.

-Scott

 

[Traditional Farmer]

You needed a bigger and heavier tractor.

 

[showcrop]

(quoted from post at 04:31:06 09/20/19) You needed a bigger and heavier tractor.

Yup, bigger and heavier tractor, or smaller and lighter load, or more gentle and less steep hill, or slower speed and more watchfulness, more frequent and more thorough inspections of equipment. Who is to say which of these or a dozen other possibilities is more important. Not me that's for sure because there are a hundred different causes and a hundred different interactions between them.