A Midtown crane disaster that killed seven people last March could have been avoided if workers raising the rig had attached chains – and not polyester straps – to a part they were hoisting, a city report found.
“The four polyester web slings failed, allowing the collar [linking the crane tower to the 51st Street building] to fall downwards along the tower,” says the report, prepared by Ove Arup & Partners Consulting Engineers.
Lawyer Arthur Aidal, who represents rigging-company owner William Rapetti, said, “We discount the entire report, since it was commissioned by the city . . . which is trying to protect itself from . . . liability.”