On December 17, 2018, the injured employee was standing near where two other employees were disassembling the winch line from the easement machine. The winch line was being drawn in and the injured employee noticed that the eyelet at the end of the winch line was about to become stuck in the boom tip. As the injured employee grabbed the eyelet with his left hand and twisted it to free it, the eyelet was abruptly pulled through the boom tip and his left index finger was amputated below the distal joint.