Abstract: A four-man work crew including Employee #1 was unloading metal baskets filled with crude rubber from a barge. The baskets were stacked three high and lifted two rows at a time. The gear used to accomplish the lift was a 60 in. by 24 in. rectangular rubber spreader with a 5 ft long wire rope attached at each corner. At the opposite end, the wire ropes were attached by a shackle to two 8 ft long wire ropes, each fitted with a steel J-hook. One employee operated the bridge crane while another positioned the baskets for unloading with a forklift. The two remaining employees attached the J-hooks of the special stevedoring gear to the baskets for unloading. The hooks were attached to the load by hooking them to the rim along the top of the bottom basket of the stack. The gear was certified for the load, but because of the bent and sprung condition of the J-hooks, after the load was lifted approximately 1 to 2 in. from the ground, one of the hooks slipped. The three baskets being lifted on that side of the gear became unstable and they all fell. The top basket fell onto Employee #1 and crushed him to death.