Had a main hoist brake fail on a Liebherr LTM 1300 last Friday in Tacoma

We were lowering a 15-ton HVAC unit about 20 feet off the deck when the load started free-falling. I hit the emergency stop and the secondary brake caught it, but it dropped another three feet with a nasty jolt. The rigger on the ground went pale. The shop found a cracked piston in the brake housing. Anyone else had a close call with a hoist brake on a mobile crane?

3 comments

3 Comments

patricia6851mo ago

Used to think those safety checks were overkill, but not anymore.

julia_miller241mo ago

Wow, that's terrifying! Heard about a similar thing on a news report.

kelly_nelson9516d agoMost Upvoted

Why didn't the secondary just catch it without dropping three feet?