While completing annual preventative maintenance on a de-energized vertically mounted overhead isolation switch, an Electrician attempted to close the switch when one phase broke free and fell approximately 14ft. The load side of the switch was connected by cabling, resulting in the broken phase swinging into a nearby switchgear cabinet.
The switching mechanism is fastened to the structure via two ceramic insulators which failed resulting in dropping the phase.
Manually operating the switch requires an Electrician to stand directly underneath the equipment.
Fortunately, the Electrician was alert and recognized the equipment failing and was able to quickly move out of the line of fire. No injuries were sustained
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