10.08.2009

Crane tips in NY State

A 130 tone All Terrain crane went over this weekend in Sylvan Beach east of Syracuse, New York.

The crane, owned by Walter J Platt Co, was helping with the trimming of some large trees when it went over. The crane was hooked up to a large tree limb, ready to lower it to the ground, but it proved to be too heavy and caused the crane to tip dropping the limb onto several boats in marina.
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The tree got the better of the crane

No one was injured in the accident and the crane was righted fairly quickly by another mobile crane that was called in.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was called in to conduct an investigation, but State Police said that they do not expect any charges will be filed.

Vertikal Comment

Tree limb removal can be a treacherous task, with the uneven weight distribution and unknown weight. You would think though that a 130 tonner would have been more than man enough for the job.

The crane appears to have been set up perfectly and was simply caught by the weight of the limb or the combination of weight and dynamic loading as the limb became free from the tree?

There is no real answer for this apart from over specifying the size of the crane and making sure that you are working for an experienced tree specialist. In this case it seems that much of this advice was followed, although we do not know who the tree man was.