Abstract: Employees #1 and #2 were using a Gardner-Denver 1500 drilling unit to pull a drill pipe from a water well they had just completed. The unit was mounted to the rear of a truck rig on a 40 ft long by 8 ft wide by 30 ft high derrick. Employee #2 was operating the driller's console and Employee #1 was helping. Employee #1 had attached Trimmie drill pipe tongs to the upper joint of the pipe to hold it still while Employee #2 caused the rotary table to unscrew the pipe's joint. The drill pipe slipped, then caught suddenly, causing the tong head to pull Employee #1's right hand and catch his fingers between the tong handle and a steel chain guard. Employee #1's middle finger was amputated at the distal joint and his index finger was crushed. The drilling unit was in average repair.