Powell v. Pacific Naval Air Base Contractors

Plaintiff was a slingman at the Pacific Naval Air Base at Port Hueneme, California. On April 14, 1945 working with a crane, he and another slingman were loading a type of freight car called a gondola. The gondola was 40 feet long, about 9 feet wide, and was equipped with steel endgates, hinged at the bottom. These endgates, as the name suggests, were at each end of the car. They were secured by locking bars and hooks fastened at the top to the bulkhead of the car. The locking bars and hooks were designed to keep the endgates from falling into the car when it was not loaded.

The crane would…