Abstract: Employee #1 was assigned to clean insulators on nonenergized lines that were 35 ft high. He was using his body belt, with a safety strap on his belt, but it was not yet positioned around the 14 in. diameter wood power transmission pole. He was also wearing climbers with metal gaffs. He reached 26 ft on the pole and, for some reason, slipped out of a cut made by the gaff and fell. His safety strap had not been wrapped around the pole because he had not reached the elevated work location. Employee #1 sustained a broken right leg. There were no witnesses. His foreman had dropped him off and left to check on work in process by other employees on the erected poles. When he returned, Employee #1 was face down and had been found by a youth. Employee #1 was hospitalized. The foreman stated that Employee #1 said, "It cut out on me," meaning the spiked climber failed to penetrate.