Abstract: At 8:47 a.m. on October 25, 2013, Employee #1 climbed a white oak tree in order to trim some limbs and branches with a chainsaw. When the employee cut the desired branch (Branch A), a branch on the other side of the tree which supported the rigging system (Branch B) unexpectedly broke off of the tree. Branch B, which weighed between 800 and 1,000 pounds, fell toward the employee and caught on the employee's climbing line. Branch B pulled downward with such force that it broke the harness in half, causing the top half of the harness to be pulled up to and around the employee's neck, and the bottom half to be pulled down around the employee's shins. Employee #1 sustained spinal column separation from the base of his skull and was killed.