Vulture reportedly strikes power line causing explosion, video shows

What happened

A video published by KENS5 in January 2018 reportedly shows a vulture striking an overhead power line and causing a large explosion. The report is known only from its headline and a short summary. The full article text could not be retrieved when this entry was drafted, so the location, the equipment involved, the duration of the event and any effect on supply or people are not confirmed. No injuries, damage or outage figures are available from the source reviewed. The source gives the publication date as 18 January 2018 and does not state the date of the event.

Contributing factors

Not reported in the source reviewed. The summary attributes the event to a vulture contacting a power line.

Lessons learned

1. Overhead lines in areas with large birds should be assessed for bird-contact risk, using insulating covers, spacing or perch deterrents where appropriate.
2. Operators should record fault events with video or sequence-of-events data so that the cause of a flashover can be confirmed rather than assumed.
3. Patrol and inspection routines should note evidence of bird activity and burn marks on conductors and hardware, since these can indicate recurring faults.

More lessons on spacing, layout and fire spread, maintenance, inspection and ageing assets, from every incident on the register.

Source

kens5.com