Abstract: At 10:45 a.m. on January 25, 1992, Employee #1, of Davey Tree Surgery Co., was attempting to fell a pine tree in a sloped area. He had just cut down two large trees and had topped a third. Employee #1 made a face cut about 4 in. deep in the third tree then attempted to cut it down without a notch or backcut. The tree began to splinter on the opposite side 2 to 3 ft above the cut. The main tree section broke away from the splintered stump, kicked out, and struck Employee #1 in the back of the head as he tried to escape. He was killed. There was no documentation to certify that Employee #1 had been trained in tree felling. A serious accident-related violation, T8CCR 3421(c), was cited.