Looking at the photo, you'd obviously sawed on it some. Can I ask why you stopped cutting, and where you were trying to push it to from the canopy end? Casual observation tells me you were just trying to break the top out and push it back to the edge of the brush. While much quicker, I think you just found out that not cutting it before pushing on it was definitely not the safest sequence. Just because you think you can move something with the tractor doesn't mean you SHOULD move it without making more manageable pieces.
Rule of thumb that I learned as a kid driving a Cub Farmall: if the piece you are pushing or pulling sideways is more than twice the width of the tractor, and you're not EXACTLY centered, you're flirting with disaster. I balanced that Cub on the two left wheels more than once doing silly things. I know it's a bit of a bother, and will take a little longer, but it's a whole lot safer to move smaller pieces. If the root ball is still attached to that trunk, be extremely careful that the last cut doesn't change the balance and let the trunk stand back up. There's nothing like hearing that "WHOOSH" when a 24 inch tree trunk goes past you. The first cut should have been near the stump. Unless a tree is laying completely on the ground and already detached from the stump, it simply isn't safe to start cutting the top or trying to move it. Big end first, where most of the mass is, and separate it from it's counterweight (root ball).
Glad you dodged the bullet there, or the club as the case may be. This would be one case where a ROPS isn't going to help unless it's a full roll cage like a race car. But that would likely have been on something a little more suited for timber management. Hope your laundry bill wasn't too high, cause that repair ain't gonna be cheap.
Be careful out there, folks. This looks like another case where a grapple might have made the operator a little overconfident about moving/demolishing things with a loader on a mid-size tractor. It's too easy to make a life altering, if not ending, mistake with a tractor. Pulling is ALWAYS better, and synthetic ropes decelerate a lot better than chains or cables. ALWAYS make sure appropriate safety equipment and guards are in place and functional and be ready for the unexpected. Then, it isn't unexpected.
Most accidents are avoidable. A bit more work with a chainsaw would have probably prevented that incident. If you are working against the clock, plan on another day to make sure you don't take shortcuts and get hurt. Hurrying any tree or tractor work is a recipe for sad singing and slow walking. That tree's obviously been on the ground for a while (bark slipping off) so another day or two wouldn't have hurt a thing.
I'm not criticizing anyone's techniques, just giving some free advice. Advice is worth exactly what you pay for it and how you use it.
