Oops. Remember, safety first.

Wow

And homeboy from OMD is a total dumbass; making jokes, asking too start the set ? That dudes head ..... sad.
 
and from a more technical viewpoint, anyone knows what went wrong? everyone should learn from this stuff...
 
That's horrible. Hope they're OK.


Did the boom just break or something? There were 3-4 people holding it up there after it fell, and if it were counterbalanced with even a drunk operator, it wouldn't require that kind of manpower.
 
jscottprice said:
Did the boom just break or something? There were 3-4 people holding it up there after it fell, and if it were counterbalanced with even a drunk operator, it wouldn't require that kind of manpower.
Click to expand...

Kinda hard to tell exactly what happened but maybe the whole thing tipped over and fell or something broke on the base? I would guess it was something to do with the base though and then the whole back end of the jib would be on the ground, which could be why those guys were having to hold it up.
 
TiE_Shepherd said:
Kinda hard to tell exactly what happened but maybe the whole thing tipped over and fell or something broke on the base? I would guess it was something to do with the base though and then the whole back end of the jib would be on the ground, which could be why those guys were having to hold it up.
Click to expand...

That's exactly what I was thinking.

I've operated a few jibs, one for live-to-tape TV, and it would take something serious to break the jib at its base. It's possible. It's also possible that the counterweights simply fell straight off. That would require a couple people to hold the jib.
 
The counterweight hypothesis seems the most likely from how fast that jib fell. I'd always be nervous having a crane above any persons- I never walk under one without keeping an eye and hand above my head. Main curiosity to me... whose production insurance got called?
 
A quick Google search found this: http://www.dangerousminds.net/comme...t_camera_crane_crashes_into_crowd_injuring_s/ (Note: A pretty gruesome photo at the end, use your discretion.)


Camera cranes can be very very dangerous (as is evident). Things happen so fast that not even the operator often has time to react.
I've personally seen a moment of distraction to an operator end with a telescoping crane end up crashed into the ceiling of the Las Vegas Convention center at NAB. Luckily no one was hurt.

Sadly many people have been killed in crane/jib accidents. Often misuse or improper equipment is to blame.

This instance could have been caused by a number of things. It looks quite possible that the whole unit simply fell over sideways - which can happen amazingly easily with a poorly rigged setup or an inexperienced operator.


Hopefully those injured are able to recover from their injuries, and everyone else can learn additional caution from it.

- Mikko
 
It's really hard to see what happened there. It does look like it fell flat across it's entire length but doesn't look like it fell over sideways. It could be that the platform collapsed or that the pedestal somehow failed. I use a purpose-built sawtooth bazooka under my jib, but some will use tripods with ancillary leg locks (like mafer clamps). The bazooka puts the full load straight down instead of across three legs, which can deflect under enertia and collapse, even with a spreader.

This is very unfortunate and a key reason I don't operate over crowds. Hope those patrons will recover. I can speculate on what jib that was and they are very heavy indeed.
 
I was working on a shoot where there were some 12K's up on some cherry-picker style cranes about 30-50 feet up.

I kept yelling at people for trying to jay-walk across the street under the crane and the old timers G&E guys kept telling me to relax because nothing was gonna happen. About 3/4 of the way through the shoot, a metal winch fell off the crane straight to the ground. Luckily, I'd been so persistent with the bogeys that no one was under the crane when the thing fell.

Got a pat on the back that day.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top