A unique meeting is taking place in New York City where crane safety experts from around the US are gathering to discuss national standards following a number of fatal crane accidents over the course of the year.
The group attending the meeting is composed of both city and industry officials who will discuss future regulations and a proposed national testing system for crane operators. They will also discuss the possible creation of a system that will track crane parts.
The meeting follows a series of incidents as nine people died in two crane collapses earlier this year in Manhattan along with accidents in Florida, Texas and Las Vegas. Donald Leo,
a 30-year-old crane operator who moved from Grant City to Monmouth
Beach, N.J., three years ago was killed in the cab of a 200-foot-high
crane when it popped off its mast and plummeted onto a Manhattan street
on May 30. Anthony C. Mazza,
a 40-year-old operating engineer from West Brighton, was one of seven
people killed when a towering construction crane ripped free of a
condominium high-rise in Midtown Manhattan on March 15. | 