LoHud reports, the crane operator at the controls when a 250-foot boom crashed down onto the Tappan Zee Bridge on Tuesday had little time to react when factors beyond his control set in motion a near-fatal mishap, a union official said Wednesday.
Jeff Loughlin, the business manager for the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 137 in Briarcliff Manor, said the operator could do nothing to stop the boom as it descended rapidly under its own weight.
“It happens so fast you don’t have time to think. You just react,” Loughlin said.
“Was it human error?” Loughlin said before answering his own question. “No.”
Among the pieces of evidence investigators have is a so-called black box inside the crane that records data, Loughlin said.
As state and federal officials probe the causes of Tuesday’s accident, Loughlin came to the defense of a crane operator with more than 30 years of experience. Loughlin said the operator had performed similar operations on the bridge dozens of times over.
State officials say the boom fell while the crane was installing pilings for the new bridge with a vibratory hammer. The crane, MLC300 made by Manitowoc Cranes, was the only one of its kind working on the $3.9 billion bridge project.
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A worker familiar with the operation told The Journal News/lohud.com that the hammer’s jaw “bites” into the pile but may have become stuck at some point, putting pressure on the cable that hoists the hammer upward and creating something of a slingshot effect. The worker asked that his name not be used since he is not authorized to speak with the media.
Loughlin said it’s too early to tell exactly what went wrong until state and federal officials conduct their investigation.
“They’re trying to decipher what went wrong,” Loughlin said.
He declined to identify the crane operator.
“He was a little rattled,” said Loughlin, himself a veteran crane operator with more than 30 years of experience. “You start to think about what could have happened. He walked around dazed for a while.”
