Posted on 03/15/2008 2:52:06 PM PDT by TornadoAlley3
NEW YORK -- A massive crane has collapsed onto several neighboring buildings on the east side of Manhattan, killing at least four people, firefighters said.
Fatal Crane Collapse
At least nine others were injured, three critically. A full rescue operation is under way in the rubble-strewn area near 51st Street and Second Avenue.
Chopper 4 images show that at least three buildings seem to be directly affected by the collapse, while at least another three buildings sustained collateral damage. One small, brick apartment building appeared to have been completely crushed by the falling wreckage.
The crane, about 19 stories tall, toppled around 2:20 p.m, and came to rest against a nearby apartment tower, buckling its side. That building and others in the area were evacuated, fire officials said.
The crane was running up the side of a skyscraper that was under construction, and apparently collapsed backwards affecting an area a city-block wide, officials said.
A report from Borough President Scott Stringer’s office said the building where the crane was operating had nine open violations, including failure to have a site security manager present and working without a permit.
Witnesses report hearing a massive rumble as the crane split apart. Neighborhood residents said they had complained to the city several times about the construction at the site, saying crews worked illegal hours and the building was going up too fast.
According to The Associated Press, the crane split into pieces as it fell. Part of it came to rest against an apartment tower, buckling its facade and smashing it upper floors. That building and others in the area were evacuated. Another piece of the crane hit other buildings on the block, ripping away walls and ceilings and crushing a small building.
Not really, with this kind of crane, assuming it's the kind most commonly used for Manhattan high-rises. A small counterweight way up at the top, on the horizontal part, but nothing that would have any significant effect on stabilizing the whole crane. These are vertical cranes, that are constructed floor by floor as a building gets taller, immediately adjacent to the wall of the building. The vertical portion is normally secured to the building, and only the small horizontal portion is moveable and counterweighted. If this crane's vertical support wasn't properly stabilized, no counterweight could have saved it. A picture of one (on a much taller building) is at this link: http://www.dreamstime.com/highriseconstructioncrane-image207562
I watched one of these things grow out the window of my then office building at Lex and 57th about 10 years ago. Pretty cool. There's a mechanism that lifts the existing sections, opening up a space near the bottom to insert new sections one at a time. I wouldn't be surprised if such an insertion was in progress when this one went over.
Interesting that the March 8, 2008 issue of ENR (Engineering News-Record) addresses the safety of these giants and the lack of mandatary inspections, as well as the lack of any strict qualifications to be an operator.
I doubt that there was no permit at all for the crane. There are probably about a thousand different permits needed to put up a building in Manhattan. This operation may have had 999 and lacked one.
At the press conference, the head of the buildings department stated the crane had been thoroughly inspected by his men yesterday, and no violations had been found.
When judging jobs that people do, and how they are compensated. I have what I call pucker factor.
The higher pucker factor the higher compensation.
When I was younger I looked into changing bulbs on com towers on top of buildings.
Hancock or Sears in Chicago, going rate was $250.00/hr to change 1 bulb, pucker factor plus common sense, indicated I should find different line of work.
An insertion had in fact been scheduled for today, but had not yet started.
The crane was lifting material and something heavy fell off. It landed on one of the supports that attach the crane to the building, causing it to snap and setting off an unfortunate sequence of events.
When you watch the video, notice that the moronic cameraman comments only on the destruction caused by the crane’s boom. What is clearly visible, although he never comments on it, is that the crane’s tower is still upright but is leaning precariously against the building across 51st St from the construction site. I’d pay real good money for a front-row ticket, just out of range, to watch them ease that baby down.
That makes sense. Where did you hear that? I’m in Manhattan but don’t have TV here, and Internet coverage is a bit sparse.
I have made quite a few posts to this thread.
If you mean the one about something dropping off and snapping a support, Mayor Bloomberg mentioned that at the 6 PM news conference.
Looks like Google Earth has a very recent image: 1st Avenue between E. 50th & 51st Streets, if I’m not mistaken. The four-story apartment building that was crushed appears to front Mitchell Place and is quite visible in the foreground.
a snip from an ap piece on the Mercury News
4 dead after 19-story crane levels buildings in Manhattan
By Pat Rizzo and Clare Trapasso
Associated Press
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_8586312%3fsource=rss
...
About 19 of the 44 stories of the high-rise condominium had been erected, and the crane was scheduled to be extended Saturday so workers could start work on a fresh story, said an owner of the company that manages the construction site.
A piece of steel fell and sheared off one of the ties holding it to the building, causing it to detach and topple, said Stephen Kaplan, an owner of the Reliance Construction Group.
“It was an absolute freak accident,” Kaplan said. “All the piece of steel had to do was fall slightly left or right, and nothing would have happened.”
Kaplan said the company had subcontracted the work to different companies and was not in charge of the crane. He wasn’t sure if any workers at the site were among those killed.
...
"NEW YORK -- A massive crane has collapsed"
they said massive
Nice vid Shermy..good find.
In ‘66, I was working a couple of blocks away from one that went point-down on a San Francisco high rise. The thing speared its way though about six stories of wood flooring. Sounded like God’s bowling alley. Pretty impressive.
Can you IMAGINE what THIS person is thinking today “from the 9 open violations link”:
“1) CALLER STATES, CRANE DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE BRACED TO THE BUILDING. THERE ONLY TIE BACKS ON 5 OR 6 FLOOR BUT UPPER PART WHICH IS 100 FT UP IS UNSECURED”
Ping.
Yeah , the idiot developer said it was rotten luck - that “...if the dropped load had gone down to the left or right it would have been fine.”
Ahole, 1) things are not supposed to drop.
2) if something does drop, why is there no shielding
for the brace?
3) Where is the redundancy and safety factor? Wind loads should put more stress on the braces than you can imagine. Would a windstorm have taken down this crane?
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