Hawaii officials investigating the death of a zip line employee on the Big Island in 2011 have faulted the zip line company for failing to take sufficient precaution when it set up its tower. 

The state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations concluded that the tower collapsed because the soil in which the ground anchors were installed failed to withstand the load from the tower, cables and rider.

According to a media release:

“For zip line installers, this tragic accident demonstrates the importance of basing design and construction decisions on measurable objective information, for the safety of workers as well as the general public,” said DLIR Director Dwight Takamine. “Unfortunately, this is another workplace fatality that was preventable and we share the sorrow of the family, friends, co-workers and others affected by this incident.” 

HIOSH standards require that employers do everything reasonable and necessary to protect the life, safety, and health of employees. 

The accident occurred on the morning of September 21, 2011 while GoZip employees were adjusting and testing cables on Line 8, the longest leg of a zip line course that GoZip was building along the Honoli‘i Stream above Pauka‘a on the Island of Hawai‘i.

One employee was test riding the zip line when the ground anchors supporting the tower abruptly pulled out of the ground. The poles that held the platform came out of the ground and the tower collapsed, causing the cables to sag into the stream valley. The employee riding the zip line fell approximately 200 feet and suffered fatal injuries. A second employee on the platform fell approximately 30’ and suffered serious injuries.