Crane Probe Focuses on Worker Error, Mechanical Failure in S.F.

SAN FRANCISCO —  State investigators probing Tuesday’s downtown crane collapse said Wednesday that they are focusing on possible worker error and mechanical failure of the 240-ton crane as the two most likely causes of the accident that killed five people and left 21 others injured.

Less likely causes include wind or a structural failure in the steel frame of the 20-story office building that was under construction, said Hamilton Fairburn, Cal/OSHA deputy chief, at a news conference at the site of the accident.

“This is very similar to an airplane accident,” said Fairburn, who said it will likely take weeks before probers reach a conclusion. The crane broke loose from its moorings, snapped into several pieces and plunged 19 stories to the street, sweeping four workers to their deaths and killing a bus driver on the ground.

Fairburn said investigators have received no confirmation of reports that the 45-year-old crane operator, Lonnie Boggess, slumped forward shortly before the accident, “but we will certainly be looking at the autopsy report” for any evidence of a heart attack.

Meanwhile, San Francisco Dist. Atty. Arlo Smith said his office had dispatched an investigator to check for possible criminal violations and to monitor the state probe.

Swinerton & Walberg, the building’s prime contractor, was involved in two earlier fatal high-rise construction accidents in Los Angeles: a 1981 crane collapse at Bunker Hill that killed two and a 1985 accident at 1000 Wilshire Blvd. that killed three.

“You’re clearly not doing a very good job of orchestrating your subcontractors when things like this happen every few years,” charged Mike Guarino, a deputy city attorney in Los Angeles.

In a civil action, Swinerton was penalized $400 by Cal/OSHA in connection with the 1981 accident.

Swinerton on Wednesday defended its safety practices and said it had even been commended by Cal/OSHA in recent months for “high safety standards and innovative safety programs.” Fairburn, however, when shown a copy of the company’s statement, said: “I don’t know what they are referring to.”

The Erection Co., which operated the crane as Swinerton’s subcontractor, also has a history of accidents. The Kirkland, Wash., firm “has a poor history of providing a safe workplace,” charged John Akin, a spokesman for the Washington Department of Labor and Industries. He cited “serious willful repeat violations.”

The firm did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Cal/OSHA’s Fairburn said the agency has assigned five investigators to the probe.