WARRENTON, Virginia USA — A man was electrocuted trying to free a model rocket — which his son got for Christmas — from a power line.

Scott Zeigler, 41, a pilot with a fascination with rockets and airplanes, spent Monday assembling his 6-year-old son Scott Jr.'s toy rocket. The two headed to a field behind their farmhouse, lit the fuse and watched it shoot into the air. As the parachute opened and the rocket floated down, it became tangled in a power line.

Zeigler pulled his tractor beneath the power line and climbed into a raised bucket attached to the machine. He was electrocuted when he used a fishing pole to snag the rocket, Fauquier County Sheriff's Capt. Scott Pfeiff said Thursday.

Scott Jr. ran for help, but rescue workers were unable to revive the father.

Zeigler may have mistakenly thought the fishing pole was made of nothing but fiberglass, which does not conduct electricity, Pfeiff said. Many new fishing poles contain graphite.

"People need to use extreme caution when dealing with overhead power lines," Pfeiff said.

Source: Associated Press ©2000