Audio Article: Kentucky Drill Rig Recovery

Kentucky Drill Rig Recovery

from the February 2023 issue of Tow Times Magazine 

In late July 2022, heavy rains caused deadly flash and river flooding in parts of eastern Kentucky and southwest Virginia. In the aftermath, recovery efforts included rebuilding roadways washed out from the storms. In the community of Busy, Kentucky, a tracked 90,000- lb. Caterpillar EK90 drill rig from Hinkle Environmental Services LLC of Richmond, Ky., was being used to set roadway pylons when the highway underneath it collapsed.

The weight of the excavator’s 60- foot mast caused it to tumble into a fast-moving, floodswollen creek. Fortunately, the operator managed to leap from the machine as it rolled. The company called Roberts Heavy Duty Towing Inc. of Lexington for the recovery.

A crew consisting of owner and incident manager Lee Roberts and operators Jarrod Mitchell and Matt Baker responded to the scene with a 2019 Peterbilt and a 2022 Peterbilt 389 triaxle — both with Century 1150 rotators. After a two-hour drive, the crew arrived at 11:30 a.m., but had to wait until weightbearing mats were placed on the roadway to support the rotators. At 6 p.m., the recovery began. The first step was to secure the machine and disconnect the mast, which was wedged in the creek’s embankment.

Once the mast was free, it was winched to the roadway and loaded onto one of the environmental company’s trailers. Next, the operators rigged to the machine and lifted it off the pilings underneath. It was placed on the roadway, then winched approximately a quarter-mile to an area where it could be loaded onto a trailer and prepped for transport by compressing the cylinders and lining up the turntable. The following day, the rotators lifted and unloaded the rig at a Caterpillar dealership. While the recovery was a success, the $1.5 million machine was later declared a total loss.