June 6, 2008

New York probe examines failed weld on collapsed crane’s turntable

NEW YORK

Investigators are examining how a worn-out part was taken off a construction crane last year, rebuilt and installed on another crane, which collapsed last week in an accident that killed two workers.

A failed weld on the crane’s turntable, which helps the crane swivel and change direction, has been the focus of the city investigation into the accident that sent the top part of the 200-foot crane crashing down on a residential neighbourhood last Friday.

The turntable had been removed in May 2007 from a crane building a 43-storey luxury condominium tower in Manhattan after a worker saw that it was cracked, a spokeswoman for the contractor said this week.

The crane’s owner, New York Crane & Equipment Corp., had a welding company repair it, and then installed it earlier this year in the crane that collapsed, an insurer for New York Crane said.

The repaired turntable was twice inspected and tested before it was installed, said Bill J. Smith, president of claims and risk management for NationsBuilders Insurance Services.

Associated Press

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