A guy running a Hitachi excavator in the Seattle area taking down trees pulled a tree right down on his cab. Must have been 20 fire fighters there cutting the tree off and getting him out of the cab. Luckily he is not hurt to bad. I'm sure he thought he could pull the tree towards him and then swing it over as it fell, very dangerous. We always push them away unless they are very small. Links to news sites. KIRO, good video here http://www.kirotv.com/news/18694009/detail.html KING, photo gallery here http://http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_021109WAB-tree-falls-on-bulldozer-TP.8014f17.html KOMO http://www.komonews.com/news/39466092.html
hmmmm. gravity's a cruel mistress.
If I have to pull a tree towards the hoe I try to always go towards the right hand side that way if things go wrong the boom should stop the tree. Like the OP said always try and push the trees instead. Hope he learned his lesson.
was his name nosack?
That tree weighed more that that little 120! What was he thinking!:beatsme
how do you spell moreon? oh wait that's not right:beatsme
I also saw the item on the Seattle newscast. They said it was a 100 foot tree. The report didn't give much information about the operator's condition, although it looked as if it could be serious. Hope he'll make a full recovery! That's one occasion when it would be good to have a ROPS and shielding like this:
Here's another pic:
I have seen that done in real time(tree on top of cab of excavator) 2 times, and 2 times the guys operating were real lucky. Must have been my good vibes on the job site. LOL
poor guy. anyone know how he is doing?
Hopefully he will survive without too serious an injury. The problem is, it is a very easy mistake to make. I know a lot of us will look at it and say he should have done this and shouldnt have done that. But how many will look at it and think yes nearly done that in years gone by, or done it and got away with it because the tree wasnt so big and it broke, rather than the cab :Banghead or yes I remember wiping the handrail or mirrors off LOOK AND LEARN!
Nosack??
I do the same. A lot of the time that's the only way I can take a tree down due to obsticles and such. whenever I can I aways swign right, like you said the boom will save you if things go wrong. this is how I do it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgxuzGoqIbY Swinging over monster! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUZf4Vd3LR4
a joke. nosack is the last name of the company on "saws for hire" that seemed like the kind of move mr nosack would make.:drinkup
Really not a laughing matter qball. I saw nothing in that video nor the other responses that would lighten up what happened!
oh, i don't know. i showed it to my dad and we both kinda chuckled. it says he wasn't seriously hurt so...:drinkup
Oh, I see thanks. I couldn't figure that one out for the life of me.
lemme tell ya something qball, obviously you and daddy have never been in the field of work that has had anyone injured. Goody for you. Keep up the good work working in the world of laughing at a malody that has no effect on you. This here world of construction has dangers and possible deaths everyday! I live here, and I work here....These dangers are real! That tree fell without an opinion, without a thought of where it was going. Yes maybe that fellow did not do it exactly right, but he is one of us and I wish him well, not jokes!!!
um, ok. settle down. the guy is gonna be fine. and i have seen death and massive injury more than a few times on the job. if i shed a tear for every mope that bumped his noggin due to his poor judgement, i'd go dry. if he were seriously hurt i'd keep quiet. but, he bumped his head and got a lil humble pie. and, before you comment, i have made more than my share of boneheaded moves. hell, i ripped the boom off a crane with a wreching ball. so, in summary, i will laugh if there is a funny incident as long as no one is seriously hurt or killed. thats how my friends, family, and myself deal with things.
Very nice qball..the first post said he was gonna be Ok, Lets hope thats the end of it.....
qball, qball, qball its NOSAK not Nosack..LOL to give everyone a little background Paul Francis Nosak has become the laughing stalk of the Tree cutting industry. He paid to have his own show on TLC; and because he was in constant OSHA violation, they PULLED it. For anyone that saw the show, it was gutwrenching. They almost totaled two of his cranes on a daily basis. For everyone that didnt see it, just be thankful.
insleyboy, qball was not trying to be malicious in any way, as seen in my last post this nosak guy was a real scary operator. He was merely making a remark about his tv show before it was pulled off the air. I personally know qball, and he is in NO way malicious towards anyone, NOR would he EVER wish something bad on someone. I think you just misunderstood what he said, no offense.
Hope the guys ok.
Hey, I want the guy to be ok as much as everyone else, and I think I can now see where qball was coming from. I'm an old schooler, thats seen a lot of rough terrain and I may have jumped on him a bit. I have that type of reaction sometimes, and for that I am sorry. Best wishes to the injured fellow and everyone out there that cares to post....BE Safe!!!!!
Amen,brother!:drinkup:drinkup:drinkup
Glad to see thats cleared up.
Got FOPS? I advise against anyone ever pulling a tall tree toward the cab however, I know it goes easier when I pull from higher up and then swing left gives more leverage to guide the tree down and away from the cab, I wouldnt swing away frrom a tree, because I want to control the fall direction with the bucket. This is the last choice move in certain situations and not without obvious risk. Sometimes you just have to call a chainsaw pro.
:Banghead :ban WHY ! Your putting yourself in exactly the same position as that operator who is in that crushed cab. IF you have to pull it towards yourself, and I am well aware that it is the only option sometimes due to power cables or fence lines or buildings then get it the OTHERSIDE of the boom. If you loose control of it and it wipes your mirrors off or splits the hydraulic tank at least you will be alive to fill all the paperwork in for OSHA or the HSE.