On July 14, 1999, a massive crane named Big Blue collapsed while lifting a section of the retractable roof for the new Miller Park baseball stadium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The accident killed three iron workers and injured five others. The crane, which was lifting a section of the stadium roof weighing over 450 tons, collapsed due to several environmental factors, including wind speeds of 20-21 mph with gusts up to 26-27 mph, and the crane sinking about a foot into the soil when it initially lifted the roof section earlier that day. The incident led to significant financial consequences, including over $500,000 in fines and a lawsuit settlement of over $99 million, and delayed the completion of Miller Park by a year. The collapse also highlighted critical issues in crane safety and management, leading to important lessons for the construction industry.
A heavylift crane collapsed in Rostock, Germany, during load tests at the Liebherr construction yard. The incident occurred on May 2, 2020, when the crane broke off while testing a load of 5,500 tons, causing the upper half of the crane to tip over and smash onto the offshore installation vessel Orion 1.
The ship, being built by Cosco (Qidong) Offshore, was scheduled to be delivered later that month to DEME Offshore for work on the Moray East offshore wind farm in Scotland.
Four people were injured in the accident, and the crane suffered significant damage, with investigations into the damage to the crane and the vessel ongoing.
This was the second accident involving Liebherr cranes in the Rostock port within a short period.
A crane fire occurred in New York City on Wednesday, July 26, 2023, leading to a collapse that injured 12 people. The incident took place near 550 10th Ave. and 41st St. in Midtown Manhattan, where a 180-foot-long construction crane boom plunged 45 stories to the streets below.
The fire began in the engine compartment of the crane, 45 stories above the street, and was initially caused by a hydraulic fluid leak that ignited on a hot plate.
The crane was lifting 16 tons of concrete when the fire broke out, and the flames weakened the cable, causing the boom and its load to fall onto a neighboring building.
The fire led to a dramatic scene with thick black smoke visible across the skyline, and pedestrians fled the area as debris fell. FDNY firefighters and over 200 emergency workers responded to the scene, with the fire being extinguished by 9 a.m..
The crane operator, who was on the machine, tried to put out the fire but had to evacuate, and he was not injured.
The New York City Department of Buildings initiated an investigation into the incident, and the site was temporarily closed for safety. Officials stated that the buildings involved remained structurally sound, and no significant damage was reported.
The incident occurred near the Port Authority Bus Terminal and the Lincoln Tunnel, and surrounding streets were closed to traffic during the response.
A crane-related incident occurred at Wesfarmers' Curragh coal mine in central Queensland on December 8, 2008. During scheduled maintenance of one of the mine's five draglines, a winch failure caused the dragline's boom to fall approximately 30 meters. The incident injured the crane operator, who sustained minor injuries. The accident also caused significant structural damage to the dragline's boom. Mine management, along with independent assessors and government work safety authorities, launched a full investigation into the cause of the incident. Wesfarmers stated that an estimate of the repair costs and the impact on the mine's operations would be provided when available.
