12.08.2016

Swinging hook makes news

A heavy gust of wind sent the headache ball of a crane into the window of Three World Trade Centre in New York yesterday creating a shower of news reports featuring the crane.

The incident occurred while one of the luffing jib tower crane, working on the 83 storey building, was bringing its hook back to the top of the building as the crew prepared to secure the crane in the face of bad weather.

As the hook passed the 12th floor a strong gust of wind, whipped the cable and ball around the corner of the building and into a window - five panes in from the corner of the tower - smashing it. The triple glazed glass is laminated however and remained in place. Although some reports claim that the incident sent some debris to the ground.
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The cranes on Three World Trade Centre

No one was injured and any ‘debris’ came landed within the site boundary, the noise was substantial, and firefighters were called to the scene. They decided that it was safe to leave the window in place for contractor Tishman Construction to remove and replace today. The building is not yet occupied.

While the incident was minor the nervousness in the city about cranes is such that it made headlines across all the local news channels and many others across the country, with facts being garbled and misreported as is often the case.
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The damaged window