06.05.2014
Crane over
We have received a report of a 500 tonne All Terrain crane overturned this weekend in the UK.
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One of the boom sections buckled
The incident occurred at the premises of Aquatic Subsea on an industrial estate in Peterhead, Scotland. The crane's boom was fully elevated, with the heavier sections fully retracted, and the top three sections either fully or partially extended. The super lift system was also installed with the counterweight over one outrigger.
The crane had been brought in to load a heavy module, and overturned when the ground gave way under the outrigger beneath the counterweight. The super lift arm hit the ground stopping the machine’s movement abruptly. The dynamic/shock loading in the wrong direction to what the boom is designed for, caused one of the boom sections to buckle.
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A close up of the outriggers
The crane is a relatively new Liebherr LTM 1500 owned by William Whyte of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. We have no further details at this stage but understand that no one was hurt in the incident.
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A view from the other side
Thank goodness nobody was hurt - looks like its going to be an awkward one to recover, but at least its in good open space for other heavy plant to access.
Any chance that photo's of its recovery could be featured ? - what with all the recent tower crane jib failures it would be interesting to see how such a recovery is planned and executed safely - would make for an interesting article as I'm sure there's a hell of a lot to consider when planning to move such a heavy, awkwardly balanced piece of equipment like this crane and lots of risk of shock loads on the jibs of the rescue cranes should some counterweight fall from the stricken crane etc during its recovery...