04.07.2014

Fatal fall for window cleaner

A window cleaner fell to his death in midtown Manhattan yesterday, after he had climbed out of the boom lift he was using onto a ledge.

Police would not confirm how far he fell, but the first ledge is around nine or 10 metres high. The man, 29, was using a 66ft JLG 660SJ but had left the safety of the platform and had not attached his lanyard to anything.
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The deceased climbed out of the platform onto the ledge and then slipped and fell

The incident occurred outside of the Bank of America on Park Avenue just north of 26th Street around midday local time. The man was rushed to a local hospital but succumbed to his injuries.

Vertikal Comment

We receive regular Death Wish contributions showing window cleaners on ledges, they usually get away with it, but as this incident demonstrates all it needs is a slip or a trip to turn into another statistic. Sadly in this case the man was provided with an ideal piece of equipment, yet he clearly felt that he needed to get closer to the glass.

One wonders what sort of training he may have received, did he lack the confidence to take such a big platform too close to the large windows and ornamental stonework? We will probably never know quite why he chose to climb onto the ledge.

The end result is a tragedy for dozens of people, ranging from the immediate and extended family to friends and co-workers, and even for those working for the rental company that owns the boom lift he was using.

Hopefully this will provide a warning to others who are tempted from time to time to climb out of the platform? At least then a little good will come out of this sad and avoidable death of a young man in the prime of his life.