RO-1996-109

At about 0945 hours on Friday 7 June 1996, a depot staff member, while piloting a DFT locomotive at Westfield, fell from the front cowcatcher step. He had given an unexpected "stop" hand signal to the driver, who responded with an immediate full brake application, and the resulting decelerative forces probably caused the pilot to overbalance and lose his grip. The pilot was run over by the locomotive's cowcatcher, sustaining serious injuries from which he died six days later.