Probers Believe Crane Turntable Weld Had Role in Disaster
To the dismay of New Yorkers already wary after a spectacular accident in March, the turntable, cab and boom of another tower crane at another highrise apartment building collapsed in a busy Manhattan residential neighborhood, raining steel down on a building near the jobsite and killing two workers.
Although the immediate cause of the accident was unclear, investigators will be focusing on a weld connecting the crane turntable to its base, city officials say. The crane, an old Kodiak model, may have been repaired recently, industry sources have told reporters. Operator error also is possible. City inspectors twice stopped work before the crane had begun lifting in late April, once because the crane operator lowered the boom incorrectly and damaged the limit switch, city officials say. The switch was fixed and work went ahead.