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| Airbus fined £200,000 for death of worker Donald Williams | Airbus fined £200,000 for death of worker Donald Williams |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Airbus has been fined £200,000 for failing to ensure the health and safety of an employee who was crushed to death at its Flintshire factory. | Airbus has been fined £200,000 for failing to ensure the health and safety of an employee who was crushed to death at its Flintshire factory. |
| Mechanic Donald Williams, 62, from Buckley, died after fracturing his skull at the manufacturer's Broughton factory in Flintshire in November 2011. | Mechanic Donald Williams, 62, from Buckley, died after fracturing his skull at the manufacturer's Broughton factory in Flintshire in November 2011. |
| Mr Williams was crushed while attaching a fertiliser spreader to a tractor. | |
| Mold Crown Court was told Airbus must also pay £58,891 in costs after pleading guilty to the charge. | |
| The inquest into Mr Williams's death, held in Ruthin in November 2013, heard he was working in the garage when he was fatally injured. | |
| Colleague Stephen Shone entered the tractor cab and switched on the engine while Mr Williams stood behind the rear nearside wheel. | Colleague Stephen Shone entered the tractor cab and switched on the engine while Mr Williams stood behind the rear nearside wheel. |
| 'Entirely avoidable' | |
| He pulled the lever to activate the system and raise the hopper then heard Mr Williams shout so pushed the lever back and saw his colleague trapped. | He pulled the lever to activate the system and raise the hopper then heard Mr Williams shout so pushed the lever back and saw his colleague trapped. |
| Other colleagues rushed to help, and Mr Williams was taken to the Countess of Chester Hospital where he died. | Other colleagues rushed to help, and Mr Williams was taken to the Countess of Chester Hospital where he died. |
| The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said an investigation found that fitters in Mr Williams's department had received no training for driving, maintaining or attaching equipment to tractors and lacked understanding of tractor controls. | |
| HSE inspector Barbara Francis said: "Mr Williams's tragic death was entirely avoidable if Airbus had taken simple precautions to ensure the safety of its workers. | |
| "He had been allowed to position himself in a dangerous area between the tractor and the spreader carrying out a job that had not been planned properly in advance. | |
| "Mr Williams and his colleagues had not been trained for the task, and the tractor's operating manual was not made available to them." | |
| After the case, Mr Williams's widow, Sheila, said: "My husband was a very special man - not just to me but to many people. The accident, which took his life and has changed mine beyond all recognition, should not have happened. | |
| "I can only hope that Airbus has learned from this and that they and all other companies in the country will take great care of the lives of their workers." |