The crane on it's side photos speak for themselves. The photo showing the control panel (Angle Indicator/Limitor)- The indicator was turned OFF, and the min/max warning knobs were set at their lowest and highest settings, which would not have given the "operator" any warning had the unit been activated anyway.

The photo showing the Rotation Gear/Bearing show that the positive house lock was NOT engaged at the time of the incident, nor was the swing brake. The "operator" was using the swing brake pedal.

This incident occurred 5/9/95. The "operator" was moving the crane off the site, towards the 4 lane street in reverse, with the boom fully elevated, and the swing-away extended.(The manufacturer DOES NOT recommend any travel with the swing-away in place.)

The frontage road in front of the site had a downhill grade to it with gutters on both sides. With the boom being elevated so high, the angle of the frontage road, etc., gravity obviously had the upper hand. Fortunately there was a flatbed trailer sitting between the frontage road, and the street. When the crane went over it landed on the bulkhead of the trailer, keeping the boom from hitting the ground, and blocking the street. The R/F outrigger that the "operator" had extended for some reason or another, didn't help much.

Thank God there were no injuries involved in this mishap, and after righting the crane, there was no physical damage found other than some scraped paint! I refer to the operator with the quotation marks, because anyone with any operating knowledge, or the ability to read an operators manual,(which was in the crane) would not have made all the mistakes that this guy did!

It took 3- LARGE tow trucks, 1- 35 Ton truck crane, and yours truly (with a significant pucker factor!, running outriggers, etc.) to right the crane.