Friday, April 3, 2015

1 INJURED WHEN TRUCK-MOUNTED CRANE FLIPS AND FALLS ONTO THE ROOF OF THE DALLAS MUSEUM OF ART. CRANE OVERLOADING WAS THE CAUSE OF THE TIP OVER.







APRIL 3, 2015

DALLAS, TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM

One person has been hurt when part of a truck-mounted crane toppled onto the roof of the Dallas Museum of Art.  The crane needed to hoist heavy metal beams as part of the work, but the weight of those steel beams pulled the crane base off of the ground.  This accident was caused by an obvious operator error.

Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman Jason Evans says the injured person was transported to a hospital following Friday morning's accident. Evans had no immediate information on a condition or further details about the victim.
The crane was mounted on a truck that was upended during the accident on the museum grounds.

The crane's upper extended arm came to rest on the edge of the museum roof, near a grassy part of the complex. The crane tipped near a towering outdoor red steel sculpture called "Ave."

Images from the scene showed the base of the crane tilted up while the large arm sat resting on the roof of the museum.

Bob Phillips with Texas Country Reporter was right across the street from the Dallas Museum of Art when the crane fell down. He said that, immediately after the incident, the vehicle’s operator climbed out of the crane cab and shouted that he was not hurt.

Despite that, an ambulance did arrive at the scene shortly afterward to help the crane operator with minor injuries.

The museum was not open when the crane came down. The south end of the building is closed until further notice, but other parts of the museum are operating Friday under normal business hours.

The crane may have also hit a large outdoor sculpture when it toppled over, but no damage was done. There was visible damage to the museum building, but its severity is unknown at this time.

The crane is owned by Scharff Crane Rental, a company based in Sherman. It was erecting a party tent used for private events that are held on the museum’s south side. The crane needed to hoist heavy metal beams as part of the work, but the weight of those pillars somehow pulled the crane base off of the ground.

The cause of the crane fall is not yet known. CBS 11 News meteorologist Scott Padgett stated that weather conditions in Dallas early Friday were not very windy, so that can probably be ruled out as a factor in this incident. 

This was not an accident.  It was caused by operator error.  This truck-mounted crane has a high center of gravity about 15 feet above ground level.  The operator obviously did not take that into account when he raised the boom and trying to lift the load.  Overload conditions are a frequent cause of structural failures to boom and crane stability/tipping, just as it happened here.

Source:cbsdfw.com