Abstract: A four-person power line crew was transferring an overhead power line from one side of a road to the other. One of the power line workers on the crew had climbed a 12.2-meter-tall (40-foot-tall) utility pole to transfer two conductors to a coworker in a nearby aerial lift. The employee on the pole transferred the neutral conductor and then climbed nearer to the top of the pole to transfer the phase conductor. He handed the conductor to his coworker and, as he moved on the pole, it fell. The employee on the pole was strapped to it, and he fell with the pole to the ground. He died of internal injuries sustained in the fall. The utility pole was provided with a guy on one side. However, the pole was located in an area that was subject to tidal flooding from a nearby waterway. After the accident, it was discovered that the pole was buried only 127 to 203 millimeters (5 to 8 inches) rather than the normal 1.8 meters (6 feet). The employer had not inspected the pole on the morning of the accident.