Investigators have found that problems with a fire truck basket apparently led to a New York City firefighter�s fatal fall in April 2017.

The fire department�s Safety Investigation Team released its undated findings this month in William Tolley�s death. The 42-year-old plunged five stories while battling an apartment-building blaze in Queens.

Investigators found Tolley was having trouble steering a fire truck basket and asked another firefighter to raise it.

Investigators say Tolley wasn�t harnessed to the basket. They say he might have removed the harness to look around for the cause of the steering problem.

For reasons investigators couldn�t determine, the basket lurched, and the door unlatched. Tolley was thrown to the ground.

Investigators say Tolley and the other firefighter followed the department�s standard operating procedures.

(AP)