Abstract: At approximately 8:30 a.m. on November 2, 1989, Employee #1 and a coworker arrived at McKibben Farm to change the air bags in a silo. Both men climbed the silo and then Employee #1 told the coworker that he would go into the silo with a ladder. They opened the hatches on top of the silo. Employee #1 said that they did not need to put the blower on the silo and blow air into it. They waited about an hour before climbing into the silo. Employee #1 had descended approximately 12 feet when the ladder fell backward and he fell approximately 15 feet into the lower part of the silage. He looked up and said that the gas was bad. He started to climb back up the ladder, but then fell off, apparently losing consciousness because of a lack of oxygen. The coworker yelled down to the employee, but he did not respond and the coworker ran to get help. The fire-rescue team retrieved Employee #1 from the silo but was unable to revive him. Employee #1 died of asphyxia.