Federal safety officials missed required inspections in each of the past three years at a Fayette County coal preparation plant where a mechanic died this week, records show.

The death at Appalachian Fuel LLC's Alloy Prep Plant No. 1 was the first in 2008 for West Virginia's coal industry.

Inspection records for the operation near Boomer show that the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration is still behind on required safety checks in the state's coalfields.

John G. Workman, 47, was killed when he was pinned under a metal plate he was trying to remove from a bulldozer so he could fix the machine, according to state and federal officials.

The incident occurred shortly after noon on Wednesday, according to a preliminary report from MSHA investigators.

The metal plate, called a belly-pan, serves to protect fuel lines, electrical wires and hydraulic hoses on the underside of the dozer, said C.A. Phillips, deputy director of the state Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training.

Workman had attached the bellypan to a truck-mounted crane, which he was operating by remote control, according to the MSHA report.

"This is not a practice that the [dozer] manufacturer recommends," Phillips said. There is a special type of jack that should have been used, Phillips said.

Workman was a self-employed contractor for his Winfield-based Workman Repair Service, according to the MSHA report.

Appalachian Fuels, based in Catlettsburg, Ky., is the remnant of the former Addington brothers coal operations. Stephen Addington is the company president. The company lists three relatively small strip mines in West Virginia that produced about 600,000 tons of coal last year.

Federal safety officials missed required inspections in each of the past three years at a Fayette County coal preparation plant where a mechanic died this week, records show.

The death at Appalachian Fuel LLC's Alloy Prep Plant No. 1 was the first in 2008 for West Virginia's coal industry.

Inspection records for the operation near Boomer show that the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration is still behind on required safety checks in the state's coalfields.

John G. Workman, 47, was killed when he was pinned under a metal plate he was trying to remove from a bulldozer so he could fix the machine, according to state and federal officials.

The incident occurred shortly after noon on Wednesday, according to a preliminary report from MSHA investigators.

The metal plate, called a belly-pan, serves to protect fuel lines, electrical wires and hydraulic hoses on the underside of the dozer, said C.A. Phillips, deputy director of the state Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training.

Workman had attached the bellypan to a truck-mounted crane, which he was operating by remote control, according to the MSHA report.

"This is not a practice that the [dozer] manufacturer recommends," Phillips said. There is a special type of jack that should have been used, Phillips said.

Workman was a self-employed contractor for his Winfield-based Workman Repair Service, according to the MSHA report.

Appalachian Fuels, based in Catlettsburg, Ky., is the remnant of the former Addington brothers coal operations. Stephen Addington is the company president. The company lists three relatively small strip mines in West Virginia that produced about 600,000 tons of coal last year.

Under federal law, MSHA is required to conduct two complete inspections of all coal preparation plants every year, but agency inspectors conducted complete inspections of the Alloy Prep Plant No. 1 once per year in 2005, 2006 and 2007, according to MSHA records.

The last complete inspection of the mine was conducted between July 18 and Aug. 2, 2007, according to agency records.

Agency computer records show that the last MSHA review of any kind was a 2 1/2-hour spot inspection on Aug. 6; however, MSHA spokesman Matthew Faraci said a new complete inspection was started on March 4 and had not yet been completed.

MSHA has been under fire for its inspection rate since the Gazette reported last year that the agency was falling far behind on required quarterly inspections at underground mines in Southern West Virginia. A Labor Department inspector general's report later confirmed the problem.

Richard Stickler, assistant labor secretary for MSHA, started a "100 Percent Plan" to catch up on the required inspections.

Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., secured additional funding for the agency to help in that effort.

"MSHA is now almost two months late in submitting its spending plan," Byrd said. "I am going to stay on top of this, and make sure that the federal inspectors in West Virginia have everything they need to get the job done."

Nationwide, Workman is the sixth coal worker to die on the job in 2008. Last year, 33 miners died across the country and nine in West Virginia, according to MSHA's official count.

To contact staff writer Ken Ward Jr., use e-mail or call 348-1702.