More than a week ago, a large air handling unit fell from a crane at a construction site at 1200 17th Street NW, crushing a truck but leaving no one injured. While the incident provided dramatic photos, we didn’t know exactly what happened until now.

Charlie Bird, safety director for Balfour Beatty Construction’s Washington division, said in an email this weekend “while hoisting an air handling unit to the roof of a building under construction … a piece of rigging failed and caused the AHU to fall, damaging the AHU and the truck that had delivered the unit to the site.”

Bird said no injuries occurred because “safe protocols were followed, including the use of ‘spotters’ to ensure that no one was in the area under the load.”

No other work was in progress on the site that day, and vehicle and pedestrian traffic were diverted for that day’s operations.

The AHU and other items hoisted that day were rigged by a professional licensed rigging contractor who was engaged to supervise and perform the lifts. The failed rigging is being studied by a materials laboratory.

Balfour Beatty Construction, LLC is committed to safety and has an excellent safety record. The cause of this incident will be determined and measures will be implemented to prevent a similar occurrence.

A Metropolitan Police Department public information officer said they weren’t called to the scene.

A building at the site was sold to Bethesda’s First Potomac Realty Trust and D.C.’s Akridge in 2011 for $40 million and demolished. The site was turned into a lake last May after a water main break, which may have been caused by the construction. A week and a half before that, a construction worker had to be rescued from the site, WUSA9 reported.

Photo courtesy of Katherine Faulders.

Filed Under: akridge, Balfour Beatty Construction, construction,