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Deadly TriBeCa Crane Collapse Caused By Operator Errors, Officials Say

By Irene Plagianos | December 9, 2016 5:09pm | Updated on December 12, 2016 8:43am
 A crane collapsed at 40 Worth St. in February.
A crane collapsed at 40 Worth St. in February.
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TRIBECA — A series of operator errors caused the deadly February crash of a 565-foot crane in TriBeCa, a Department of Buildings investigation found.

According to the report released Friday, operator Kevin Reilly made several mistakes that led to the massive crane toppling across two TriBeCa blocks on Worth Street amid high winds, killing one man, David Wichs, and injuring several others.

Most critical among his errors were a failure to secure the crane overnight according to manufacturer protocols, knowing there were snow and high wind predictions, and not properly lowering the crane to the correct angle on the morning of Feb. 5, causing it to become unstable and ultimately plummet, the report says.

"And as I turn around, I feel the machine move," Reilly told investigators of collapse just after 8:00 a.m. "I look back out the window, and the f-----g thing coming up. So I try to luff back [move the crane jib], and it just went down. [sic]”

The DOB said Reilly's operator's license has been suspended and he's no longer allowed to operate cranes in New York City. The department has also filed a case against him through the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH).

"The crane operator involved in this incident acted recklessly, with tragic results," said DOB Commissioner Rick D. Chandler in a statement. "The actions we’re taking should send the message to everyone in the construction industry that safety must come first."

In September, the U.S. Labor Department's Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) slapped Galasso Trucking & Rigging, Reilly's employer, with two "serious" violations, for exposing employees to "hazards associated with crane failure" because it didn't have policies in place to operate the crane in keeping with the manufacturers' procedures — and also placed blame on the operator's error in handling the crane.

The DOB also said Friday that it is working with the City Council on legislation that would tighten crane safety. Measures include sticker licensing requirements for operators of large cranes, and requiring that lift directors, who must be on site at all times during crane operations, are registered with the DOB.

Since the crash, the DOB has made changes in crane safety policy, including requiring that all crawler cranes have a lift director on site to oversee weather conditions and inspections. Also, the specific configuration of crawler crane that was used in the collapse — a crane that cannot be used when winds gust above 20 mph — has been banned from city streets. The DOB plans to permanently continue with that ban, but those cranes can still operate on places like empty lots.

The full report can be found here.