Abstract: Two-man work crews were sandblasting and painting the interior surface of two large water tanks, 100 ft high and 59 ft in diameter. They were working from pneumatically powered two-point wire rope suspended scaffold units. The employer had provided a fall protection system which included independent lifelines, lanyards, and safety belt/harnesses. Employee #1 and a coworker ascended to the top of the tank. The coworker left the scaffold and positioned himself on top of the roof to gain access, through roof openings, to ceiling members which could not be reached from the scaffold. Employee #1 remained on one end of the 20-foot long scaffold and temporarily detached himself from his safety lifeline. One of the suspension cables broke; as the scaffold end fell, it pivoted around the other suspension point and the second cable also broke. Employee #1 plunged approximately 95 feet to the sand-covered tank bottom. He died.