Mackie Bailey acted as a whistleblower to help Kentucky authorities determine the cause of the accident, eventually leading to federal criminal convictions against the company and three of the mine’s supervisors.

He was charged with taking part in the violation and was faced with the possibility of losing his miner’s certification to a year-long probation, Kentucky.com reported.

Bailey was working as a roof-bolter at Manalapan Mining’s P-1 mine in Harlan County in 2011 when he identified unsafe workplace hazards that could result in a deadly roof fall and reported them to his supervisors.

While working, Bailey recognised that the section of mine wall was too high for the safety support bar to reach the roof, leaving miners using the machine exposed to unsupported sections of rock.

He was instructed by supervisors to continue working and was threatened with being fired if he refused.

The next day a fellow worker was killed when a section of rock nearly seven-foot long collapsed on him at the mine, according to the federal investigation into the case.

It was then that Bailey reported the hazard to the Kentucky Office of Mine Safety and Licensing before federal prosecutors ultimately took over the case.

A federal grand jury indicted the company, foreman, super intendant and operations manager on charges of knowingly violating safety rules. They are currently awaiting sentence.

Bailey contested his charges at a Mine Safety Review Commission hearing Thursday.

Investigators testified that Bailey led state investigators to the violation and was a key witness in the federal case.

Bailey’s attorney argued that penalizing him would discourage other miners from reporting violations in the future.

The panel ruled that Bailey committed a violation, but would receive no penalty because of his whistleblower status.