Peterhead, Scotland

We have received a report of a 500 ton All Terrain crane overturned this weekend in the UK.

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.

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.

A view from the other side

The post Crane Over appeared first on Crane Accidents.

Richland County, Wisconsin

A Kraemer Brothers construction employee working on Ithaca High School was killed, according to a report from the Richland Sheriff’s Department.

Christopher Kraemer, 30, was killed just before noon Friday. He was working on the Ithaca High School construction site when he became trapped under a crane.

The Richland County Sheriff deputies responded to the accident. Sheriff’s deputies found the victim with head injuries lying on the ground near a bent crane, according to the report. Deputies made several attempts to resuscitate him. Kraemer, of Spring Green, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The scene of the accident.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Kraemer Brothers are still investigating the case, according to the report.

The post 30 Year Old Killed by Broken Crane at Construction Site appeared first on Crane Accidents.

 Monroe Missouri

The boom of what looks like a home-made crane was blown over the back of the tractor yesterday, trapping the operator/driver in Monroe Missouri.

The man, 46, was lifting trusses into place on a barn he was building when a gust of wind caught the long lattice jib and truss and took it over the back of the cab-less tractor crane (front of the tractor) tipping the vehicle onto its nose and pinning him into his seat.

The rescue in full flow

It took the emergency services almost an hour and a half to free him, They used a telehandler to take the weight of the jib off of the man’s back so that he could be extricated. He was then airlifted to a hospital, where his injuries are said to be moderate.

The post Tractor Crane Pins Operator appeared first on Crane Accidents.

 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

A man died in an incident with a vehicle mounted aerial lift near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania yesterday.

The man,Paul Reese, 54, an employee of American Tree Service, of Wexford, Pennsylvania, was trimming trees from a truck mounted lift at a cemetery in Zelienople – North of Pittsburgh – when the boom apparently failed, dropping the basket to the ground. It then struck a head stone and Reese was catapulted out of the platform.

Reese was part of a four man crew working at the cemetery, his colleagues say that they found him on the ground and that he was clearly badly injured. He was declared dead at the scene. OSHA was called and will investigate the incident. We do not have much further information than this, although a photo from the scene does appear to confirm reports of the ‘boom snapping’, although the fact that there was little or no noise associated with the failure, contradicts this.

A photo from the scene does appear to confirm reports of a boom failure.

The post Fatal Boom Failure appeared first on Crane Accidents.

Enfield district of Redditch, Worcestershire, UK

A mast boom was reported to have overturned in a supermarket car park in the UK yesterday injuring a man. The true cause looks to have been unrelated to the machine itself.

The incident occurred in the Enfield district of Redditch, Worcestershire, in the car park of a supermarket that is closed for refurbishment.

Details are minimal, all we know for certain, is that the lift was stowed and ended up on its back. It looks as though the machine was being carried by a telehandler at the time and it fell off the forks- rather than having overturned.

The scene yesterday

The air ambulance was called and the injured man was taken away with a suspected pelvic injury, we will update this item when we discover more details.

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Blenheim on New Zealand’s South Island

The boom of a crawler crane working on a new theater in Blenheim on New Zealand’s South Island, collapsed over the back of the machine this morning. Thankfully no one was hurt in the incident.

It looks as though either the boom luffing hoist did not stop while luffing in, or the operator managed to badly ‘two block’ the 100 tonne Hitachi crane. It was not lifting anything at the time the boom went over the back. WorkSafe has been informed of the incident.

That is all the information that we have at this time, but will update this report if and when we receive more information and or photographs.

The crane’s boom went over the back and down across the building

The post Crawler Crane Loses its Boom appeared first on Crane Accidents.

Zeeland, Southern Holland

A floating crane working on the salvage of a sunken German mine layer from the second world war, collapsed yesterday while attempting to lift the final piece.

The crane, owned by De Klerk Waterbouw, was said to be making a 100 tonne lift when an unplanned movement caused the twin boom to crumple.

The crane after the incident yesterday

The boat, an MFP-920, is lying in around 14 meters of water near the shore of the Veerse Meer lake near Vrouwenpolder in Zeeland, southern Holland. It originally weighed around 240 tonnes, but had been cut into three sections, two of which had already been removed.

It has been lying upside in the lake since the war, but officials were worried that it might still have un-exploded mines on board, so it was being removed to go on show in a museum.

The crane lifting one of the first two parts of the boat

As far as we are aware no one was hurt in the incident and a replacement crane is on the way.

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Barrow, Furness in the UK

We have received information and a photograph of an incident in Barrow, Furness in the UK on Tuesday evening, where the superstructure of a telescopic truck mounted lift broke free from its chassis, causing the boom to drop on to the roof of a Pizza Hut restaurant.

Two men had apparently been working on the signs above the building from the platform, when the incident happened. We understand that the two were rescued and the machine removed but we have no information on whether they were injured, and if so how extensively. No one else was hurt or affected.

The scene on Tuesday night

What we can see from the photo is that the bearing broke free from the truck chassis, possibly due to the bolts shearing or being loose etc… We will update this item when we learn more.

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 Surrey, UK

A crane called in to remove a very large Leylandi tree, that had fallen on to a house in Redhill, Surrey, UK in this week’s storms suffered a bent boom.

The boom buckled between section four and five

The crane was working with four of its five telescoping sections fully extended while the second section was only partially extended. The bend occurred between the fourth and fifth section. Two other cranes were brought in to deal with the tree and the damaged crane. At one point a suspended man basket was used to work on the buckled crane boom.

A view from behind

One assumes that either the boom telescope sequence was wrong for the load, or the LMI incorrectly programmed?

A man basket is used to reach the damaged boom

The post Boom Buckles on Tree Job appeared first on Crane Accidents.

Lakewood, Ohio

The boom of a boom truck crashed down onto a garage in Lakewood, Ohio yesterday, there were no injuries.

The crane, owned by a tree service company Jim’s All Seasons, appears to have sheared or lost all of its slew ring bolts allowing the boom and turret to break free from the base. The boom came down onto two garages, but police said the damage was minor, although it did bring down some power lines. Thankfully there were no injuries.

The scene yesterday

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Rotherham, UK

A crane working in the UK suffered a bent boom yesterday on a new supermarket site in Rotherham.

The bent boom

The All Terrain crane owned by Emsley Crane Hire was apparently working on steel erection job at a new Tesco store when the incident occurred. While the cause could be down to a number of issues, it looks as though the boom sequence might have been inappropriate for the load being lifted at the time, with most of the heavier lower sections retracted or just partially extended, while the two lightest sections look as though they are fully out?

We understand that no one was hurt in the incident.

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Provo, Utah

The boom of an All Terrain crane buckled while lifting a rooftop cooling unit onto an office building in Provo, Utah yesterday.

The boom buckled at the base

The crane, a 220 ton Grove GMK5275 (GMK 5220) owned by Arizona based Wagstaff Crane, was working with the second and third section retracted and all smaller sections extended. The buckling occurred at the base of section four. The crane, which has a seven section 68 meter main boom, was operating with the boom at a fairly low angle, possibly around 30 degrees.
If the rest of the boom was fully extended the crane would have been working at a radius of around 44 to 46 meters. The crane appears to have two counterweight sections installed – around 21 tons – if so the boom is limited to just under 50 meters and maximum radius 44 meters, depending on how much boom is out and capacity is in the region of 2.2 tons. Although the outriggers are short rigged so it may be lower.

A close up of the buckled boom

The crane’s swing-away extension has dropped from its stowage brackets on the side of the boom, suggesting some sort of impact or impact. One report said that the crane tipped and then settled back onto its outriggers. If so it is possible that the buckling was caused by a dynamic shock load.

The post Utah Boom Buckle appeared first on Crane Accidents.

Peterhead, Scotland

We have received a report of a 500 ton All Terrain crane overturned this weekend in the UK.

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.

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.

A view from the other side

The post Crane Over appeared first on Crane Accidents.

Richland County, Wisconsin

A Kraemer Brothers construction employee working on Ithaca High School was killed, according to a report from the Richland Sheriff’s Department.

Christopher Kraemer, 30, was killed just before noon Friday. He was working on the Ithaca High School construction site when he became trapped under a crane.

The Richland County Sheriff deputies responded to the accident. Sheriff’s deputies found the victim with head injuries lying on the ground near a bent crane, according to the report. Deputies made several attempts to resuscitate him. Kraemer, of Spring Green, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The scene of the accident.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Kraemer Brothers are still investigating the case, according to the report.

The post 30 Year Old Killed by Broken Crane at Construction Site appeared first on Crane Accidents.

 Monroe Missouri

The boom of what looks like a home-made crane was blown over the back of the tractor yesterday, trapping the operator/driver in Monroe Missouri.

The man, 46, was lifting trusses into place on a barn he was building when a gust of wind caught the long lattice jib and truss and took it over the back of the cab-less tractor crane (front of the tractor) tipping the vehicle onto its nose and pinning him into his seat.

The rescue in full flow

It took the emergency services almost an hour and a half to free him, They used a telehandler to take the weight of the jib off of the man’s back so that he could be extricated. He was then airlifted to a hospital, where his injuries are said to be moderate.

The post Tractor Crane Pins Operator appeared first on Crane Accidents.

 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

A man died in an incident with a vehicle mounted aerial lift near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania yesterday.

The man,Paul Reese, 54, an employee of American Tree Service, of Wexford, Pennsylvania, was trimming trees from a truck mounted lift at a cemetery in Zelienople – North of Pittsburgh – when the boom apparently failed, dropping the basket to the ground. It then struck a head stone and Reese was catapulted out of the platform.

Reese was part of a four man crew working at the cemetery, his colleagues say that they found him on the ground and that he was clearly badly injured. He was declared dead at the scene. OSHA was called and will investigate the incident. We do not have much further information than this, although a photo from the scene does appear to confirm reports of the ‘boom snapping’, although the fact that there was little or no noise associated with the failure, contradicts this.

A photo from the scene does appear to confirm reports of a boom failure.

The post Fatal Boom Failure appeared first on Crane Accidents.

Enfield district of Redditch, Worcestershire, UK

A mast boom was reported to have overturned in a supermarket car park in the UK yesterday injuring a man. The true cause looks to have been unrelated to the machine itself.

The incident occurred in the Enfield district of Redditch, Worcestershire, in the car park of a supermarket that is closed for refurbishment.

Details are minimal, all we know for certain, is that the lift was stowed and ended up on its back. It looks as though the machine was being carried by a telehandler at the time and it fell off the forks- rather than having overturned.

The scene yesterday

The air ambulance was called and the injured man was taken away with a suspected pelvic injury, we will update this item when we discover more details.

The post Mast Boom Incident appeared first on Crane Accidents.

Oman

The boom of an All Terrain crane buckled while assembling/dismantling a tower crane in Oman, causing it to drop the large jib section on the construction site below.

Details surrounding the incident are sparse, however a video shows the All Terrain crane lifting a large section of a tower crane’s jib with a fully extended boom and swing away extension fitted. The weight of the tower crane’s jib section then causes the crane’s boom to buckle between the fourth and fifth boom section.

As far as we know no one was injured in the incident – this may have been helped by the fact the jib stuck the roof of a building first, causing it to land in an upright position on the construction site.

The post Boom Buckles in Oman appeared first on Crane Accidents.

 Nova Scotia, Canada

The boom of a crane removing a 150 year old wooden steeple from a church in Milton, Nova Scotia, Canada on Friday, collapsed dropping it the ground and bringing down the local power lines.

The crane, a Link Belt 8690 truck crane, rented from All Erection was working with a full five section boom plus swing-away extension, and had lifted the steeple clear of the building when it appears to have been caught in the wind a little.

The crane lifts the steeple from the church with full stick

The crane slewed round and clearly sensing issues with the boom the operator started to lower it as fast as he could, but it was too late for the boom, the fourth section folded close to its base, dropping the load to the ground where it smashed into a large number of pieces. It also brought down a number of overhead lines tripping the power supply to the area.

As the operator tried to lower the load the boom gave way

Thankfully no was hurt or injured and the only damage was to the crane, the power lines and the steeple, which was the first stage in moving the old church to a new location in the town. Crowds came along to watch the event and a full video was taken of the lift as it  happened

The post Dropped Steeple appeared first on Crane Accidents.

Bihar Region of India

Seven men were killed last Monday in the Bihar region of India, after the boom of a small crawler crane came down on them.

Details are still far from clear, but we do know that the crane was on a barge below the bridge, and was not one of the main cranes working on the 4.3 km long bridge over the Ganges. The main contractor is S P Singla Construction.

A smaller barge carrying sand had apparently sunk and the crane was attempting to help when the boom luffing cables failed. The crane was clearly not in good working condition and had been the subject of complaints about its state.

The crane’s boom came down on rescue workers

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