Union: Crane crash beyond operator's control

The crane operator at the controls when a 250-foot boom crashed down onto the Tappan Zee Bridge on Tuesday had little time to react when factors beyond his control set in motion a near-fatal mishap, a union official said Wednesday.

Jeff Loughlin, the business manager for the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 137 in Briarcliff Manor, said the operator could do nothing to stop the boom as it descended rapidly under its own weight.

“It happens so fast you don’t have time to think. You just react,” Loughlin said.

“Was it human error?” Loughlin said before answering his own question. “No.”

Among the pieces of evidence investigators have is a so-called black box inside the crane that records data, Loughlin said.

On Thursday, the New York State Thruway Authority was scheduled to cut southbound traffic to one lane from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Friday in order to repair damage on several of the lanes. While most southbound lanes were scheduled to reopen for the morning commute, the outermost southbound lane will remain closed.

The Thruway Authority called the overnight shutdown "phase one" of bridge repair.

Phase two "will be announced in the coming days," it said.

As state and federal officials probe the causes of Tuesday’s accident, Loughlin came to the defense of a crane operator with more than 30 years of experience. Loughlin said the operator had performed similar operations on the bridge dozens of times over.

State officials say the boom fell while the crane was installing pilings for the new bridge with a vibratory hammer. The crane, made by Manitowoc Cranes, was the only one of its kind working on the $3.9 billion bridge project.

Loughlin said it’s too early to tell exactly what went wrong until state and federal officials conduct their investigation.

“They’re trying to decipher what went wrong,” Loughlin said.

He declined to identify the crane operator.

“He was a little rattled,” said Loughlin, himself a veteran crane operator with more than 30 years of experience. “You start to think about what could have happened. He walked around dazed for a while.”

He said the operator took Wednesday off and will likely not be at work until talk of the accident dies down.

Loughlin said he was amazed that the boom managed to avoid killing anyone despite falling on six lanes of traffic.

“I believe in miracles,” Loughlin said.