Abstract: At 8:15 a.m. on June 27, 1990, Employee #1, of the Maryland General Construction Corporation, was using a Manitowoc 140 ton crawler crane with a 90 ft boom and telescopic spotter. He and several coworkers were setting 85 ft long pre-stressed, pre-cast concrete piles into place for a new digester tank at the Back River waste water treatment plant. They were starting to set the fourth pile. Employee #1 and a coworker were on the spotter. The pile was set and released. As it went into the ground, it turned out of position. The employees attempted to reset the pile by lifting the pile and hammer. As the crane operator started to hoist the load, the converter point where the leads are attached to the boom failed, causing the boom to shear off the base. Everything fell to the side of the crane's cab. Employee #1 was thrown off the spotter and fell approximately 14 ft into an excavation. He was taken to the hospital for the treatment of a concussion. The coworker was able to jump off and escape injury.