Investigators looking into why a giant 170-foot crane collapsed and killed a worker at the 7 train extension site Tuesday night are homing in on the crane's "hoisting system." The crane was not carrying any load when the boom broke and fell apart, but a steel-wire cable of the crane snapped just moments before the accident. Officials say it had "a number of defects" in its hoisting system.
"Our engineers have found defects in the hoisting system of the crane that failed and, as a result, the maintenance and operation of the crane in the days and weeks prior to this tragic accident has become the focus of our investigation,” said Buildings Commissioner Robert LiMandri. Another city official speculated that the defects were the result of "poor maintenance." Yonkers Contracting, which operated the crane, is currently the focus of the investigation, and the company is also contesting a $5,000 fine issued after a "serious" incident at the World Trade Center last May involving a device used to “lift personnel.”
In the wake of the fatal accident, the MTA re-inspected all cranes at its city projects and all passed. New MTA spokesman Adam Lisberg tells the Times that Yonkers Contracting, not the agency, was responsible for maintaining the crane. Tragically, the crane was to have been inspected just days after it broke. The DOB had tried to inspect the boom in January, but because it was being used when they arrived, they postponed the inspection until April 5th.
