Investigations
Fire truck aerial ladder failure
NHTSA Preliminary Evaluation PE11027 - closed, opened 2011-08-16.
NHTSA investigation PE11027 is a Preliminary Evaluation opened on 2011-08-16 and currently closed. The subject is tracked inside the Office of Defects Investigation queue. Latest activity on this investigation was logged on 2012-02-17 - NHTSA updates that field whenever an Information Request goes out, a supplement is filed, or a status change is recorded in the public docket.
A Preliminary Evaluation like PE11027 is the entry point of the federal defect-investigation process. NHTSA engineers scan complaint databases, field reports, and manufacturer data to decide whether an Engineering Analysis is warranted, whether a voluntary recall is already sufficient, or whether the pattern does not rise to a defect finding.
Investigators summarized the matter as follows: "On August 16th 2011 the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this Preliminary Evaluation (PE11-027) on Kovatch Mobile Equipment (KME) Aerial Cat 2003 - 2011 Fire trucks concerning an alleged failure related to a..." Investigations are the early-warning layer of the federal auto-safety system, sitting upstream of formal recalls and defect orders. Whether this one closes without action or escalates into an Engineering Analysis, the full history stays in the ODI archive so researchers, litigators, and buyers can pull the paper trail at any time.
Investigation Summary
On August 16th 2011 the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this Preliminary Evaluation (PE11-027) on Kovatch Mobile Equipment (KME) Aerial Cat 2003 - 2011 Fire trucks concerning an alleged failure related to a fire truck's aerial ladder. The electronic-over-hydraulic controller that is used to move the aerial bucket fails, causing an unintended movement of the aerial device on certain KME aerial ladder/platform trucks. This unintended movement of the aerial ladder bucket constitutes an unreasonable risk to safety as the movement may occur in an unintended direction possibly near electrical power lines, structures, or a fire. The manufacturer will conduct a safety recall. The remedy KME will implement updates the software for the controller, including a triple redundancy system. One of the systems disables all platform aerial movement controls immediately upon actuation of the "dead man's" switch at the turntable. This PE is closed with a Safety Recall (12V-027). The ODI reports cited above can be reviewed at www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchNHTSAID under the following identification (ODI) number: 10418106
About This Investigation Type
A Preliminary Evaluation (PE) is the first phase of NHTSA's investigation process. It is opened when the agency identifies a potential safety defect pattern, usually triggered by consumer complaints, manufacturer reports, or field monitoring. During a PE, NHTSA gathers information to determine whether a formal engineering analysis is warranted.
Data from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Cross-references: NHTSA recall campaign API and NHTSA FARS where fatality records overlap. PlainCars does not rate or recommend vehicles. about how PlainCars sources NHTSA data.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.