Fatal NYC crane collapse blamed on operator error

Fatal NYC crane collapse blamed on operator error | iNFOnews.ca
FILE- In this Feb. 6, 2016 file photo, firefighters and construction crews work on clearing up after a construction crane collapsed in New York. The New York City Department of Buildings said Friday, Dec. 9, 2016, that the crane operator failed to secure the 565-foot crane the night before it collapsed in Tribeca on Feb. 5. The department says the operator also lowered the crane's main boom at an improper angle, causing the crane to become unstable and topple over. One person died in the accident. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

New York City officials are blaming a crane collapse that killed a man in lower Manhattan in February on operator error.

The city Department of Buildings said Friday the crane operator failed to secure the 565-foot crane the night before it collapsed in the Tribeca neighbourhood on Feb. 5.

The department says the operator also lowered the crane’s main boom at an improper angle, causing the crane to become unstable and topple over.

The department has suspended the crane operator’s license. Officials have not identified him.

The city investigators agreed with the conclusions of a separate investigation by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA also found that the collapse was caused by operator error.

Wall Street worker David Wichs was killed in the collapse.

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