Prosecutions

BA subsidiary fined after worker suffers brain injury in fall

By Belinda Livrsedge on 12 January 2023

A subsidiary company of British Airways has been fined £230k after a man was left in a coma after a fall at work.

Iain Mawson, an employee with British Airways Maintenance Cardiff (BAMC), was placed in an induced coma for three weeks due to his injuries.

On 10 November 2019, the 52-year-old father of two had been inspecting wings on a Boeing 747 when he fell two metres down.

Cardiff Magistrates Court heard how he had fallen through a gap in the guard rail of the docking platform where safety barriers had been removed at the aircraft maintenance hangar in Rhoose, near Cardiff Airport.

He suffered skull fractures and a brain haemorrhage, a broken vertebrae and collar bone because of the incident and has not been able to return to work since.

HSE found BAMC had failed to analyse the risks and avoid removal of guardrail safety barriers or ensure safety barriers were replaced.

Investigating HSE inspector Sara Lumley said: “This incident could so easily have been avoided by simply carrying out correct control measures and safe working practices.”

British Airways Maintenance Cardiff Ltd of Waterside, Harmondsworth was fined £230,000 plus costs of £21,623 for breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act.

A statement from the company said: "Safety is always our highest priority and we deeply regret that despite the processes we had in place, this incident was able to occur.

"We've worked hard to learn from this experience and have implemented further improvements to our safety measures and procedures."