Why Cranes Keep Falling

In the wake of New York City’s latest disaster, crane safety experts weigh in on leading causes of crane collapses.

On February 5, a windy day in Lower Manhattan, a 565-foot crane collapsed and killed a man when it struck the parked car in which he sat. Crews had been planning to secure the Worth Steet crane because the forecast projected sustained winds at stronger than 25 mph, but they were too late.

After the collapse, Mayor Bill de Blasio required crawler cranes, the mobile type of crane that can move around a work site, to cease operation and transition to safety mode anytime there are sustained winds of more than 20 mph or gusts of more than 30 mph forecast in New York City. “No building is worth a person’s life,” de Blasio says. “We are going to ensure the record boom in construction and growth does not come at the expense of safety.”

So why does this keep happening?

(Taken from popularmechanics.com – Read the full article)