scope:

Description of Driving Event:

On March 20, 2003, a 128,500 lb. LOX dewar was being transported from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) to the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS). A commercial carrier»s trailer was used for the operation. The particular trailer used was selected by the commercial carrier. The commercial carrier was a second-tier subcontract to the NASA prime contractor activating the Advanced Technology Development Center at Complex 20 on CCAFS. During the move, the dewar, trailer, and tractor rolled to the left, with the dewar ultimately breaking free from the trailer and coming to rest in the ditch.

The dominant root cause of the mishap was the selection and use of a trailer which was undersized for the application. The trailer was overloaded approximately 200%.