This one happened thirty or so years ago, seems like yesterday.
I was one of the foremen on a construction crew in Southern California. We were stringing wire between spread energized conductors. The lineman on the tensioner end of the project couldn’t operate the brake and see how much 556 MCM wire was left on the reel. An apprentice was instructed to watch the reel while the wire was being pulled in. He took his position in front and to the side of the reel where, if anything happened, he would be in the clear.
I continued following the sock line as the conductor was being pulled in. Suddenly, it dropped. Luck prevented the conductor from coming in contact with all the energized crossings, riser poles, etc.
Apparently, the apprentice did what he was told. He watched the reel (until it ran out of wire, never saying one thing).
Unknown Lineman