Details Released in Airman’s Death

Aug. 8, 2013

SSgt. Emily Clayburn died instantly when a falling two-ton crate struck her next to a warehouse loading dock at MacDill AFB, Fla., in January, according to the Air Mobility Command release discussing the findings of the accident investigation into her death. The mishap occurred on Jan. 14. Clayburn, 29, was a member of MacDill’s 6th Logistics Readiness Squadron. The accident investigation board determined that the crate, which housed a KC-135 refueling boom, rolled off of the loading dock and struck Clayburn after she had released the brakes on one of the two warehouse dollies supporting the crate, according to AMC’s Aug. 2 release. The investigators noted several factors “relevant to the mishap,” including a high daily operations tempo and the lack of formal risk assessments.

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