Abstract: Employee #1 was in the bucket of an aerial lift painting a sprinkler pipe. To paint the next section of pipe, he had to go around a ventilation duct. As he maneuvered the lift, he backed into a steel air pipe and was pushed against the drive joystick. Employee #1 was pinned against the air pipe and the bucket operating panel (protective bar and joystick). He suffered a severe chest injury and died of asphyxia. There was a lot of debris next to the aerial lift. Another painter had showed Employee #1 how to operate the lift's controls and watched him until he seemed comfortable. Employee #1 had operated the lift for 3 weeks prior to the accident.