Confusion about procedures and inadequate safety measures were factors that contributed to the death of a Hickam apprentice airman earlier this year, according to an Air Force accident report.

Airman 1st Class Rickey Wagoner, 20, of Linden, Texas, died Jan. 25 from injuries in a fall Jan. 8 while doing emergency repairs of a wind-damaged roof at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.

Wagoner and another airman were fixing a fiberglass skylight panel and covering it with plastic sheeting when he fell 18 feet, striking his head on a concrete floor, causing traumatic brain damage, the report said.

The Air Force accident investigation board said it found there was “confusion and inconsistent understanding of fall protection regulations and requirements” within the Air Force maintenance shop.

The report said there was failure to secure the skylights or install guardrails while the work was being done, and failure to wear hard hats.

Neither of the two airmen wore fall protection devices as required by Air Force and Navy regulations when working at or above six feet above the ground.

The report did not say whether any disciplinary actions were taken.

Wagoner was with the 647th Civil Engineer Squadron He enlisted in the Air Force in May 2011 and reported to Hickam in December after completing a 12-week technical course at Naval Construction Battalion Center in Gulfport, Miss.