Abstract: A four-person crew was working the daylight shift on a drilling rig. They were drilling a gas well. Three of the employees were directed to set up an electric pump to recirculate excess water from the haul-off pits to the mud pits. The 480-volt, 80-ampere, three-phase pump was initially set on the east haul-off pit. It did not work properly. It was then placed on a wooden pallet on the ground. Apparently, as one of the employees turned the pump on, a ground fault occurred. This energized the frame of the pump, and the employee was electrocuted. A splice in the power supply cord had failed, causing a phase-to-phase fault, which subsequently resulted in a phase-to-ground fault.