An employee was operating a tractor and utilizing a 2.5-foot kinetic rope and a 1-inch soft shackle to pull another tractor that was stuck in the mud. An additional 30-foot kinetic rope with a soft shackle was hooked up to provide distance from the soft soil. While pulling, the loop end of the terminal shackle on the stuck tractor frayed and released the rope, causing it to recoil back at the pulling tractor. The rope(s) struck the back of the pull tractor, broke the rear window, and struck the employee. The employee was pushed forward into the steering wheel and sustained severe lacerations to the head and a collapsed lung.