Human Error Likely Cause Of Seattle Crane Crash, 5 Companies Being Investigated

Human error may be to blame for the Seattle crane collapse on Saturday that killed four people and injured four others, experts said Monday. Based on videos of the collapse, experts believe the workers who disassembled the construction crane removed pins holding sections of the crane together too soon. “The reason this tower fell over is ironworkers and the people working on it did not follow the manufacturer’s instructions for disassembling the crane,” said South Carolina crane accident investigator Tom Barth. “If the pins had been in, that crane would not have fallen over." The crane’s mast fell Saturday afternoon as workers took it apart. Sections landed on top of the new Google building it was working on and other pieces hit six vehicles on the busy street below.