05.02.2016
Large crawler overturns in Manhattan
A large crawler crane has overturned in Lower Manhattan, New York this morning killing one man and seriously injuring two others.
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The crane boom came down along the street
The crane, owned by Bay Crane and operated by Galasso Trucking and Rigging was rigged with long boom and luffing jib. The jib was being lowered at the time that the crane went over, in preparation for it to be secured in the face of rising wind speeds - expected to exceed 25 mph, when it lost stability and overturned. We now understand that the wind had reached 18 mph when the crew started lowering the jib, however strong gusts - said be as high as 40mph - caused them to abandon the first effort and wait for the gusting to subside, it was on the second attempt that the incident occurred.
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The crane's boom and jib came down across an intersection
The boom and jib then came down on a number of parked cars, and at least one or two moving vehicles that were occupied. A man - David Wichs,38, was walking down Worth Street was struck by the boom and died instantly. Another man, 73, was trapped in his car and suffered a head injury. The injury concerned a woman who walked out of a coffee shop - directly into the path of the falling boom and jib, she suffered a head injury, requiring stitches, but was later released from hospital.
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A number of cars were crushed
The crane's headache ball smashed its way into the offices of a law school, landing on a desk, thankfully the building was empty at the time. The operator, Kevin Reilly,56, is said to be highly experienced and familiar with the crane. He was declared free of any alcohol or drugs after a test shortly after he escaped from the cab. The cranes overload and information system is now being analysed.
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The crane's headache ball landed on a lawyers desk
Construction workers on an upper floor of the building the crane was working on captured the scene on video:
The clean up and investigation started on Saturday, with a team from Bay Crane cutting the crane into 35 or more truck loads. It will be taken back to the yard and held for further analysis. It looks though as the cause is likely to revolve around the sequence of jib stowage, boom angle and wind gusts at the time.
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The crane the day before the incident
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The clean up begins
Good Morning Gentlemen,
Mayor Bill De Blasio is correct, the Crawler Crane Disaster in New York City on 5th February 2016 Killing David Wichs on his way to Work, deserves close scrutiny.
Crane Safety Legislation may well be the Answer, but on its own is a Waste of Paper. For Legislation without Enforcement is not enough, Better Enforcement is therefore Key to Achieving Higher Crane Safety Standards.
So as I have spent the past 8yrs Researching, Recording and Reporting 339 Crane & Lifting Incidents Worldwide, leading to the Deaths of 381 Men, Women & Children.
It is my submission to the Crane Industry that Lifting Operations are Inherently Dangerous as we are always attempting to Defeat Gravity and thus we need to adopt….
1. 'Safe Systems of Work’, so when something goes wrong it does not Lead to Death(s) or Injury(s).
2. A Training Programme called ‘How to Avoid Crane Accidents’ and incorporating the Laws of Physics.
3. Invite all to attend starting with the CEO, because if he or she is not Committed to Crane Safety, No-One else will be.
The Benefits of these Three simple actions will be ENORMOUS and will result in Lower Insurance Premiums, Less Equipment Damage and Improved Safety for all Men, Women & Children at Ground Level.
Moreover it will also ensure that everyone gets to go home to our Family's in one piece at the end of the Day. Surely this alone is a Humanitarian Objective that the Crane Industry can all agree on ?
Yours Sincerely
Mike Ponsonby
strretch67
The ball is definately an issue here, Leibherr states in the dissassembly process that after selecting the assmebly mode for the crane all hooks and blocks must be on the ground.
Most people don't do that as there is a lot of rope to contend with and slack may form as well.
If they did indeed have 565 feet of combined boom and jib that is 10 feet more than the charts allow for.
Assuming there was permission from Liebherr for the addition, a 2000# ball at 381 feet from the tipping access has a huge effective weight.
Combine that with maybe a boom angle that was maybe a little too low, some ice on the boom and jib and wind on the rear of the crane and you would have a perfect storm.
Good Morning Mr Mayes,
Thank you for your kind words, the content of which is noted.
HSE will confirm that 142 Men and Women were Killed at Work in 2015, therefore if my Crane Safety Work saves just one Life, it will all be worthwhile.
Even if it does mean being incorrectly described by your goodself.
For the Record, I am not an Expert, or a Crane Driver nor a Barrister.
Worker Safety is my Core value, please make it the same in all Workplaces.
Kind Regards
Mike Ponsonby
Tmayes
You seem to be missing the point Mr Ponsonby I wasn't asking you for facts I was telling you what you had put was wrong, and a load of legal stuff copied and pasted from a legal website isn't FACTS of this accident that you seem to taken it upon yourself to try and point out, but in the process you have made yourself look foolish. Anybody with a ounce of experience in the crane industry will know what has happened here and will be waiting for the investigators who know what they are talking about to get on with there work.
Good Morning Mr Mayes,
Thank you for your kind words, it was nice of you to write.
If its Facts you want, then 2015 was the worst year in living memory for Crane Induced Fatal Incidents Worldwide : That is 159 seperate Crane or Lifting Incidents in the 12 months January to December 2015. This includes the Two Major Crane Disasters at Alphen en den Rijn (on 030815) and Mecca (on 110915), :
Both of these Two Major Crane Disasters led to 111 Men and Women being Killed, injuring 394 more, with Ten (10) Fatal Incidents in the UK alone : Worker Safety is my core value, so I was motivated to start recording these Crane Incidents 8 yrs ago because Lifting Operations are inherently Dangerous, as we are always attempting to Defeat Gravity.
a) Crane & Lifting Incidents in 2015, led to 190 Men, Women & Children Killed Worldwide.
b) That is one Fatal Incident every 46 hours for the entire year.
c.) Cranes involved were 22 Towers, 23 Crawlers, 47 Mobiles & 67 Booms, AWP, Telehandlers and/or Fatal Falls or Burns.
The Terminology that we use is also vitally important, because each time the Crane Industry reports yet another so-called ‘Accident’ it perpetuates the widespread Myth that these incidents are not avoidable, nor preventable, when they were clearly foreseeable at Alphen and Mecca above. This then raises the question, what is to be done to stop this ongoing Death Toll. The Answer may I suggest is threefold….
d) Consign this weasel word ‘Accident’ to the Dustbin of History.
e) Start a Training & Instruction programme, starting at CEO level based on Crane Mfrs Handbooks.
f) Crane Employers to Stop Blaming Drivers and start Implementing Safe Systems of Work for all Lifting Operations.
All of which is the English Common Law requirement for the Crane Industry ( see Judgment of Lord Wright in precedent case of Wilsons & Clyde Coal Co. v. English [1938] HL. AC 57 pages 83-84) : The benefit of which is that everyone gets to go home in one piece at the end of the day : Meanwhile Baldwins Crane Hire case in Preston Crown Court on 22nd Dec 2015 has given new celebrity to Crane Safety, thus energising the need for Pro-Active Management of Lifting Operations : Therefore all Crane Industry CEO's and MD’s should now recognise this particular Prosecution as ‘The Game Changing’ moment, after which they ignore safety at their peril.
Worker Safety is my Core value, please make it the same in all Workplaces ?
Kind Regards
Mike Ponsonby
Tmayes
Apologies for the dam iPhone auto correct haha instead of slow it was meant to be slew and not clock but hook.
Mike
What would stop the hoist rope running if the weight of the block wasn't hinging off the anchor ??
Tmayes
Dear Mike
Before commenting on such events I'd get your facts right first, you don't put the hook block on the ground before lowering the boom, you would pike or lower the luffer lower enough to land the hook block then you would slow out the way to avoid landing on the clock then touch the luffer wheels on the ground and secure the crane.
Good Evening Mr Editor,
How was it that the Headache Ball, landed on that New York Lawyers Desk ?
When it should have been already on the Street, many minutes before landing the Jib Sections of that 565 ft ( or 172.2 metres) long Boom and Fly Jib ?
Worker Safety is my Core Value, please make it the same in all Workplaces.
Kind Regards
Mike Ponsonby
orrabeel
The hook should not have landed anywhere,it should have been on the ground before the boom was lowered.
Was the main boom in the correct angle to lower the luffing jib? Was it because the wind was pushing on the back side of the boom while lowering...? Strange that this could happened. My deepest sympathy to the family of the victim and courage to the crane operator.