Abstract: At approximately 11:15 a.m. on October 18, 1992, Employees #1 and #2 were atop pier #2 of a highway bridge under construction. They were landing bearing shoe assemblies transported by a 45-ton capacity Link Belt 108B crawler crane. Each bearing shoe weighed 1,573 lb and each was being transported separately. The crane operator was booming down at the signal of Employee #1. Employee #1 gave the stop signal and the crane operator pulled the control into neutral. The boom brake should have then automatically engaged and held the boom in position, but the boom hesitated, then continued on down toward Employees #1 and #2 on the pier. Both employees, in their efforts to escape the falling boom, stepped off the 3 ft wide pier and fell approximately 20 ft to the ground. Employee #1 sustained various contusions and abrasions. Employee #2 sustained a fractured right tibia. Apparently, there was a malfunction in the boom brake system, as the crane was well within its boom and operating radius capacity.