The Defence Department has pleaded guilty to breaching workplace health and safety regulations after a man's leg was severed at the Townsville air force base.
The department pleaded guilty to exposing a person to the risk of death or serious injury in Townsville Magistrates Court on Monday.
The injured RAAF worker was part of a team removing the nylon tape from an aircraft arrestor unit in August 2017.
Workers were using the tow motor of a flat-bed truck to remove the tape from an eight-tonne arrestor unit designed to stop planes during emergency landings.
The worker became entangled when the reel reached the end, pulling the unit from the truck.
The unit and the worker fell onto the runway, severing one leg and severely injuring the other.
"The penalty imposed should serve as a means of encouraging employers to maintain what is described as a constant vigilance with respect to ensuring the safety of their employees and the workplace," magistrate Scott Luxton said.
The accident was "obvious and foreseeable", he said.
The department failed to implement a safe work system, Comcare regulatory operations manager Justin Napier said.
"The work should only have been carried out when the arrestor unit was anchored to its foundation, rather than strapped to a truck," Mr Napier said.
"The arrestor tapes should also have had visible warning markers to alert workers when the tape was running out."
The department was fined $350,000, escaping the maximum penalty of $1.5 million.
