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
