Abstract: At approximately 7:30 a.m. on January 28, 2008, Employee #1, a welder, was working to cut out a section of a pollution pan located in the subfloor of a Hercules 251 Rig. The four-sided pollution pan was attached to the walls of the subfloor with twelve flat iron braces approximately 0.375 in. thick by 5 in. wide by 8 in. long. Three braces were located on each side of the pollution pan. The braces on the east and west side of the pan had been removed previously. The welding supervisor directed Employee #1 and another welder to cut the three braces that remained in place on each of the north and south sides of the pan. The other welder cut the three braces on one side and then stepped out of the pan. As Employee #1 cut the last brace, the pollution pan fell. Employee #1 fell approximately 44 ft to the "Texas Deck" located below the rig, striking his head on the well head. He then fell another 62 ft through the gap between the well head and the Texas Deck and landed in water. Employee #1 was recovered via use of the rig's rescue capsule. He was killed.