 | Type: Terex Comedil Topless Tower Crane
Date: 3 Mar 2007
Location: Altyre Road, Croydon, England
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Notes: On 2 June 2007 a modern Terex Comedil Topless Tower Crane collapsed whilst it was being made higher using a climbing frame. The crane is pictured here in March 2007. It was being used to construct a 25 storey residential tower on a site adjacent to the existing Croydon Park Hotel. At the time of this photo the climbing frame had not been fitted. |  | Type:
Date: 6 June 2007
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Notes: A close up of the cab. Note that at the bottom of the turntable assembly the connection points to the mast and the climbing frame are clearly visible. The four outer holes are the climbing frame connections. It appears they are undamaged indicating that the failure was not within the structure here, but was associated with the connecting pins. |  | Type:
Date: 6 June 2007
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Notes: A close up view of the climbing frame (the grey steelwork). At the time of the accident, the crane's height had not been increased. At the time of the collapse there was a new mast section on the tray (bottom left in the picture) where it was placed before the crane is jacked up, ready to be slid in when the crane is raised. The crane was suspending a second mast section from the hook in order to try and put the crane in to a position of balance for the climbing operation. On the left hand side of the climbing frame on the top the upstand connections into the turntable assembly can be seen. The two on the right side are visible in another photo but are bent as they had been levered over by the rotation of the falling crane. |  | Type:
Date: 6 June 2007
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Notes: A large 500 tonne Liebherr LTM1500 owned by Ainscough was brought to site for the heavy lifting. Here it is fitted with an unusual short offset fly jib. |  | Type:
Date: 11 June 2007
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Notes: The remains of the jib are removed from the roof of the hotel in a delicate operation. |
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Date: 6 June 2007
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Notes: The crane collapsed early on Saturday afternoon, 2 June and landed on the roof of the existing hotel building. The crane driver was seriously injured suffering broken bones and was removed from the cab using a second tower crane already erected on the site. Three erectors, who were carrying out the climbing operation were stranded at the top of the mast as the collapse had damaged the internal ladders within the mast sections. They were rescued on Saturday evening. No-one in the hotel was injured which was evacuated and closed after the incident. |  | Type:
Date: 6 June 2007
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Notes: The back jib can be seen resting upside down on the roof of the hotel nearest in the photograph. Then the cab section follows, with the main jib stretching into the distance. The trolley (the red component) can be seen from which the hook was suspended and was lifting a mast section. This section got catapulted backwards as the crane flipped over and crashed to the ground. |  | Type:
Date: 6 June 2007
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Notes: As the crane rotated over backwards the concrete counterweight blocks on the back came in towards the mast and collided with it. The crane continued to rotate and drop downwards ending upside down in the first impact with the hotel. The back jib and its counterweight blocks tore down through one side of the mast ripping the lattice work and the internal ladders thereby preventing the erectors on the climbing frame from descending. The mast was shaken violently by the collapse and the mast section sitting on the climbing frame tray was dislodged and fell to the ground. |  | Type:
Date: 7 June 2007
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Notes: Using a man basket suspended from the smaller mobile crane, access is gained to the top of the mast to prepare for its removal. |  | Type:
Date: 13 June 2007
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Notes: The recovery is completed with the removal of the mast. The photo shows a mast section that fell during the collapse from either the hook or the tray on the climbing frame. On 14 June the Health and Safety Executive announced an interim result of the enquiry into the collapse. The crane was not connected to the climbing frame when it was disconnected from the mast so it was left balancing unconnected and tipped over. Select, the crane's owner, was prohibited from climbing other cranes in its fleet without using trained erectors. |
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Date: 6 June 2007
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Notes: The crane had tipped backwards and landed upside down on the roof of the hotel. The weight of the slewing ring then caused the cab section to rotate around 180 degrees. It remained held in position dangling over the edge of the building by virtue of the connections with the front and back jibs having not severed. |  | Type:
Date: 6 June 2007
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Notes: The top of the climbing frame from a different angle. The crane collapsed by tipping over the left hand front edge. The upstand connections can be seen to be bent over as a result of the falling crane levering them as it fell. |  | Type:
Date: 6 June 2007
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Notes: Whilst the site was quarantined and inspected for evidence, the clear up operation was mobilised. A Terex Demag AC120 Mobile Crane was mobilised by Select, the owners of the tower crane. |  | Type:
Date: 8 June 2007
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Notes: The climbing frame is recovered to ground level. The connections, where the root cause of the collapse occurred, are sheeted off. |  | Type:
Date: 8 June 2007
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Notes: The cab section is recovered from its resting place and brought down to the ground. |
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