I saw some video of the site this morning. It looks like some sort of failure of the crane (don't know the make/model - older lattice crawler, maybe a P&H). It looked like it came done hard as the main boom was fractured in several places. One person killed.

If I understand the report correctly, the guy who lost his life was only 30. That's really tragic.

It was a Manitowoc 4100.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHzdQB8rMPM

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-Vinny

http://www.heavytruckphotos.com/

http://enr.construction.com/business_management/safety_health/2012/0404-crane-in-latest-deadly-nyc-accident-had-passed-inspection.asp

So are more cranes coming down in NYC, or are they just reported more often? I can understand their concern, but if Manhattan has a large number of cranes in the air each year (and I suspect it does), then this might not be a regulatory issue. We all want to see zero crane failures, but they are still run, maintained, and built by people. I'm curious if anyone else has thoughts on whether these NYC failures are unusual, or just a reminder that we still work in a dangerous industry.

Its a sad and sobering reminder of the constant attention and respect that must be given to these machines and what can happen when things go wrong. Every day we work under hundreds of tons of steel suspended over our heads by precision engineering, constant maintenance, and highly trained operators and riggers. If any one of those things are not done with attention to excellence, the results are often tragic.

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The fundamental aim....is to do everything that is attempted in a first-class way."
-Pierre S. Dupont

The rumor is that the worker killed was not even struck by anything. He had a Heart attack or something. I have to say, as someone who works with cranes in the city often, that their is just alot of them and things happen. It's like people who watch Nascar and want to see a wreck. It's a shame that so many are getting a bad name in NYC. On a side note, keep an eye out at the U.S.S. Intrepid for the next few weeks/months. They got some interesting crane picks to watch.....

What the media doesn't report is how many cranes are in NYC,daily how many lifts go with out a hitch,how many moves go uneventful..
I bet the number of accidents is less than 1% of the big picture.

I remember a meeting ,we had an average of about 45,000 lifts for the year,and two incidents.with 40 full time guys 8-15 apprentices,10 truckers,and 8-10 yard guys,moving 96 cranes...dont care where you are ,thats good work.

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Q-Ball a wolf in Jesus skin ---the sorcerer of reasonable commentary





I smile & wave

Sometimes I think life is just a rodeo,
The trick is to ride and make it to the bell.

People not crane smart dont know that all cranes cannot catch a runaway load there is not a crane made old , new, mill crane, hoisting engine , hydraulic ,friction etc . You will burn off the linings or tip the rig if you try.Manitowocs boom hoist are the worst , they are known to run away , thats why the aux boom brake , see how many guys put an extension on it to catch it in a hurry . Today is good friday no work in anthracite , the Jeddo 8700 lost its boom years ago on good friday , a coal miners holiday !!!!