Crane Inquiry Brings Experts From Overseas : Equipment Failure Hinted; Operator Passes Drug Tests

Technical experts are being brought in from the East Coast and Europe to determine the cause of a shipyard accident Friday that killed six workers when a crane-operated steel basket carrying 12 men plunged onto the deck of a Navy supply ship being overhauled at the National Steel & Shipbuilding Co.

Fred Hallett, NASSCO vice president and spokesman, said Saturday that the experts are expected to arrive Monday and will probably inspect the crane Tuesday or Wednesday.

The experts will join an investigation by NASSCO, the Navy and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Four Still Hospitalized

Four men injured in the incident were still hospitalized Saturday. Two were listed in critical condition, and Hallett said the other two were expected to be released by today.

An official cause of the accident--the worst in NASSCO’s history--is not expected to be released until late in the week, Hallett said.

“Most crane manufacturers are on the East Coast or in Europe,” he said. “We simply can’t find the experts we need to help in the investigation on the West Coast.”

The task of putting together a team of experts is compounded by the fact that although the crane was assembled in the United States, many of the component parts were manufactured throughout this country and Europe.

“In order to determine the cause of the accident and learn from this unfortunate incident, we have to inspect the crane and its component parts,” Hallett said. “The components are manufactured here and in Europe, and we’re in the process of assembling a team of experts familiar with these different parts.”

Meanwhile, investigators are putting together a “checklist of what could’ve gone wrong,” hoping to find the cause of the accident through a process of elimination, Hallett said.

“We’re going through a very thorough planning stage,” he said. “There is no advantage to haste here. We want to be very thorough.”

On Friday, company officials theorized that the accident occurred because of a mechanical failure that prevented the locking of the basket to the crane’s arm, or because of operator error. The “personnel basket” involved in the accident measures about 7 by 10 feet, is 3 feet high and can hold 15 people.

Operator Passes Tests

NASSCO officials announced Saturday that the company will pay all funeral expenses for the families of the six men killed. The company has put together a team to assist the families in making funeral arrangements and flying in relatives, Hallett said. Mortuaries handling the funerals have been instructed to send all bills directly to NASSCO, he added.

Hugh Humphrey, the 65-year-old crane operator who was at the controls at the time of the accident, has passed a series of drug and alcohol tests. Hallett said Humphrey volunteered for the tests, which included a screening for more than 50 drugs. The company offered to pay for professional counseling for Humphrey, but he declined, Hallett said.

Last year, Humphrey was involved in another fatal accident, in which a piece of lumber dropped from a crane and struck a worker. Humphrey was cleared, however, when it was determined that the wood had been improperly stacked, NASSCO officials said.