10.03.2007

Crane boom buckles

The 60 metre (210ft) boom and jib of a Link Belt 238A lattice truck crane came crashing down at a building site in downtown Grand Junction, Colorado yesterday.

A 39-year-old worker, Arturo Carrola-Andrade, was taken to hospital with a broken leg after he jumped off a scaffold as the boom came towards him.

The crane is owned by PSI Cranes and Rigging of New Castle/Glenwood Springs; the boom came down after the first straight section, normally a heavy duty section, buckled and collapsed. It then came down across a road and smashed into a parked car.

The crane operator, Jerry Maigatter, said there was no load on the boom when it came down. “All I could think was how many guys are going to get killed,” he said. “I thank God nobody was.”

OSHA officials have said they will look at annual inspection reports on the crane when they conduct their investigation next week, according to Herb Gibson, area director in Denver. “Crane operators are required to keep those reports on file for inspection, but don’t turn them in to the agency unless requested” he said.

Shaw Construction, the general contractor, which is building a parking garage on the site, said that they will investigate and hoped to resume work on Monday.

PSI Crane &Rigging operates around 20 cranes including and has invested heavily in new equipment in recent years. It has a number of Liebherr telescopics and lattice cranes, as well as units from Tadano, Grove, Sumitomo and Link Belt.