UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

At about 10:30 a.m. on December 30, 1988, Employee #1 and a coworker, both of Hardin-Huber Inc., were working at a wooded work site boring holes in the ground to obtain soil samples for foundation work for a new housing development. A 1985 Mobile drill, model B-47, serial #624792, with a gasoline engine, was used to make the borings. Employee #1 was apparently very close to the auger bit of the drill rig while it was operating. He was shoveling away drill cuttings when the coat that he was wearing became caught on a 2 1/2 in. diameter auger extension rod that had been installed between the auger bit and the auger drive coupling assembly with a 6 in. long T-pin. His coat was twisted around the extension rod several times, pressing his body against the auger assembly and the rear of the mobile drilling, killing him. The emergency shut-down lifeline assembly at the bottom of the rig control panel, 2 ft from the auger drive coupling assembly, was missing. Employee #1, who was experienced and trained in drilling operations, was not wearing ppe.