27.04.2010

Crawler crane tips in Florida

A crawler crane tipped over backwards in Sarasota Florida yesterday bringing down power lines and dropping its load onto a house, no one was injured in the incident.

The crane, an older American Crane and Derrick model is owned by John Burgstiner Inc and was apparently working on a bridge replacement project near the intersection of Lockwood Ridge Road and Webber Street. It tipped over backwards during the night due, to the ground giving way under one of its tracks, cutting power to around 1,400 homes.
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The ground gace way under one of the tracks

The crane’s hook and a welder/generator that had been lifted into the air for security reasons, crashed through the roof of the house from a height of around 12 metres. Firefighters broke down the door of the building and confirmed that no one had been home at the time.

Local reports say that that the crane had driven over a water main earlier in the day, causing a leak that eventually softened the ground sufficiently to cause one of the crane’s tracks to sink as the ground gave way causing the whole unit to lurch rearwards into a ditch sending the boom over the rear coming to rest among the overhead wires at an angle of around 45 degrees.
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The recovery begins. For the eagle eyed note the absence of outrigger mats under the recovery crane

Update

The power outage lasted over 24 hours for many of the residents, the crane's boom was cut into sections and the crane removed.