An employee was removing a 6-inch black steel pipe from underground with an excavator holding the pipe up off the ground. The employee was cutting through the pipe using a cutting torch and needed it raised to finish the cut. The employee moved approximately 5 feet away from the pipe. As the excavator was raising the pipe, the pipe broke and swung toward the employee, striking him in the femur. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured femur and required surgery.