21.07.2010

Crane tips in Akron

A crane tipped over in Akron, Ohio yesterday with its boom crashing into the roof of a house.

The three axle truck crane was removing a large dead tree from the rear garden of the home. The contractor had apparently attempted to lift the top off of the tree but found that it was too heavy for the crane.
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The roof of the house caught the full force of the crane's boom

The problem was that the top was already cut from the main trunk. The contractor reportedly told the home owners that he was bringing in a larger crane. However while waiting for its arrival a gust of wind shifted the tree causing the crane to take all of the load and tip. The boom came to rest on the roof of the home. No one was injured in the accident.

Two larger cranes were called in to remove the crane from the home and finish the job.
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Larger cranes come to the rescue

A representative from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration was on scene as part of the investigation into what went wrong

Vertikal Comment

Trees have been one of the greatest causes of crane tip over’s in the past year or two. They are unpredictable and arborists seem to repeatedly underestimate the weight of limbs.

It seems that the best bet is to build in a substantial margin of safety when carry out such work. This job has not turned into a very expensive on - far more than the cost of a much larger crane woudl have been,