The death of a farm worker crushed under a four-tonne trailer could have been avoided, a sheriff said.
William Brown, 58, had used an "unsafe" and "defective" arrangement to support the double wheel axle trailer as he worked beneath it, a fatal accident inquiry heard.
He relied on a John Deere 6630 tractor and its hydraulic front loader to take the weight of the trailer.
The vehicle fell on top of him because of a loss of hydraulic pressure or contraction of hydraulic oil due to cooling, the FAI heard.
Mr Brown was working as a self-employed agricultural contractor when the accident occurred at Mains of Blackhall Farm, near Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, in late February 2017.
He was found by a neighbour who heard the tractor running and went to investigate.
Mr Brown became trapped under the trailer and died of traumatic asphyxia.
Sheriff William Summers noted the tragedy "would have been avoided" if Mr Black had used a "suitably strong device" to support the trailer as he worked.
A neighbour who lives next to the farm heard a tractor running throughout Sunday, February 26, and at around 6.30pm went to the barn.
They found Mr Brown's body underneath the flatbed of the trailer and called the emergency services, who pronounced him dead at 7.15pm.
In his newly-published determination, Sheriff Summers stated: "The equipment was unsuitable and Mr Brown relied solely on the hydraulic system of the tractor to support the weight of the trailer as he worked underneath it."
He concluded that a forklift truck or overhead crane would have been suitable, but acknowledged they had not been available at the time and were not "realistic alternatives".
He continued: "He might reasonably have used axle stands or railway sleepers, or any other suitably strong device to support the weight of the trailer while he worked underneath it. If he had done that, the accident leading to his death would have been avoided."
The sheriff made no recommendations that might realistically prevent other deaths in similar circumstances.
