Abstract: At approximately 2:30 p.m. on February 23, 1995, Employee #1 was operating a Franklin 142XL-N skidder. He parked the skidder diagonally on a hillside while a coworker hitched chokers onto two logs. As the employee drove the skidder forward, it began to slide sideways down the hill and roll over on its right side. As the skidder rolled, the employee either attempted to jump out or was ejected from the skidder's ROPS enclosure. He landed on his back in a slight depression. The rolling skidder toppled a tree, which fell across the employee's pelvis and chest, killing him instantly. The skidder's seat belt was inoperative and its brakes were determined to be defective by a truck inspection specialist from the Vermont State Police.