Abstract: On September 23, 2001, Employee #1, a plumber of the Hudson Mechanical, Inc. was searching for a leak in a buried 12-in.-diameter water line. The water line was approximately 600 ft long. Employee #1 went half way on the pipe and excavated down to it. He cut a 4-ft-long section out of the pipe and capped both ends. Employee #1 had someone turn the water into the pipe to see if that particular section was leaking. Employee #1 stood in the excavation between the two pipe ends. The bell portion of the water pipe blew apart as water filled the pipe line. Employee #1 had not placed cribbing between the two pipe ends to prevent their moving. Employee #1's left leg was fractured in several places when the pipe struck his leg. He was hospitalized. The employer is the General Engineering Company.