Quote Originally Posted by BIGLRY View Post
I'm sure it is very true, I'd bet that the operator was pulling and jamming the swing brake, slewing levers and boom hoist controls as hard & fast as he could. The worst part is when the house flipped upside down, I can tell you from experience there is no sicker feeling in the pit of your stomach when you lose control and become just a passenger in disaster with no way out.
I have never turned one over, but been witness to enough crane accidents and had close calls with a pucker factor of 11 to know that the operator was doing everything possible to bring the crane down safely.

Crane operators are funny type guys, they hold the life and death of all the men around them in their hands every time they fire the rig up. Crane operators must always be in control and cool under stress and let me tell you running a long boom in any big city is a very stressful job, so stressful that tower crane operators only work 4 hr. shifts and why there is always 2 operators per 8 hr. shift.

I guess you can say it's like riding a motorcycle - You have to bring your A game every single time, except with a LOT more responsibility.