A "Hair Hang Act" performance during a Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus show on May 4 in Providence took a disastrous turn when the apparatus the performers were hanging from suddenly fell to the ground. An investigation by OSHA determined this incident occurred because the carabiner used to support the performers failed from being improperly loaded. The failure resulted in the eight employees performing the act falling more than 15 feet to the ground and sustaining serious injuries. A ninth employee, working on the ground, was struck by falling employees.

How it happened

In violation of industry practice and the carabiner manufacturer's instructions, the company improperly loaded the carabiner by attaching two pear-shaped steel rings to the bottom of the carabiner, with each steel ring having three wire cables running from it to the corners of the rigging apparatus. This created a tri-axial loading situation as opposed to the proper loading situation where the carabiner is loaded only at two points along its major axis. This improper manner of loading resulted in the carabiner being overloaded, causing the carabiner to fail and having all eight employees attached to the rigging fall to the ground.

Maximum penalty

As a result of its findings, OSHA has cited Feld Entertainment Inc., doing business as Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, for one serious safety violation with a proposed penalty of $7,000, the maximum fine allowed by law. The citation can be viewed at http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/Feldfinalcitation.pdf.

"This catastrophic failure by Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus clearly demonstrates that the circus industry needs a systematic design approach for the structures used in performances – approaches that are developed, evaluated and inspected by professional engineers," said Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health. "While the $7,000 penalty is the maximum allowable by law, we can never put a price on the impact this event had on these workers and their families. Employers must take steps to ensure this does not happen again."