Abstract: At approximately 5:45 a.m. on April 4, 2014, Employee #1, a crane operator employed by a crane rental company, was part of a work crew engaged in demolition work at a manufacturing plant. Employee #1 was operating a luffing jib crane to hoist collapsed sections of 13-foot diameter steel ductwork from the roof of the plant and lower them to the ground. In preparation for removing the third section, designated Lift #3, which had an original weight estimate ranging from 26,000 pounds to no more than 40,000 pounds, crew workers previously had rigged the section with 1.25-inch diameter wire rope slings. Previous attempts to hoist the piece had been unsuccessful, and after each attempt workers increased the amount of pull from the crane. When the weight on the load line reportedly reached 100,000 pounds, the workers decided to increase the size of the rigging to 1.5-inch diameter steel wire rope chokers. Employee #1 was directed to begin the hoist. He first was directed to swing the load approximately 90 degrees, which would move it over the avenue below, so that it could be lowered to the ground next to a previously lowered piece, Lift #2. Once Lift #3 was swung into position, Employee #1 was directed to first lower the section and then lower the boom and set the load next to Lift #2. As Employee #1 boomed the load down, the rear of the crane's crawlers came off the ground, moving the weight of the load further from the crane's center pin. This caused a shift in the crane/load center of gravity away from the crane. The crane tipped forward on its crawlers. The load swung back towards the crane, causing the crane to settle back on the crawlers. The load then swung away from the crane, this time overcoming the almost 300,000 pounds of counterweight on the crane. The crane tipped forward and crashed to the ground. The stacked counter weights, located behind the operator's cab, slid out of position and struck the cab. Employee #1 was killed. This work-related fatality was investigated by Michigan OSHA.