Backhoe goes for swim in river.

[David_Kb7uns]

Here is a good one for making sure equipment is secured when parking. Gotta love our incompetent Public Works here, some how missed this happening yesterday doing more tractor time.

Backhoe plunges into South Santiam River

David Kb7uns

 

[mfreund]

Someone must have forgot to set the brake. OOPS!!

 

[rd_macgregor]

Maybe the pressure washer was out of order and they needed to clean it?

 

[square1]

What's $20k if it's taxpayer dollars? No big deal

I thought Sweet Home was in Alabama

 

[David_Kb7uns]

Went by there yesterday and Public Works supervisor was out with one of the local crane company guys, thinking it will take some type of rough terrain crane to get down the hillside next to the river to get it out.

David

 

[Gary Fowler]

A diver to attach a winch cable to it and drag it out would be far cheaper and safer. Most excavators have lugs in the frame to attach cables to just for such problems. A large wrecker would be able to drag it up the bank pretty easily.
Evidently the hoe is in a raised position so that shouldn't hamper the salvage.

 

[David_Kb7uns]

No way a wrecker could do this, it fell off a rock ledge about 10-15 feet above water level near old water intake. They used a Grove 110 ton crane and a hardhat diver to hook it up and the Corps of Engineers drop the water output of the dam for a short time.

Here is an update about the backhoe that now flies.

Huge crane makes retrieval of backhoe from river look easy

David Kb7uns

 

[JerriC]

Some of the most basic accidents could have been avoided if only those operating the machine had had the proper training for the backhoe! It's possible to get training online at Heavy Equipment Online Training | Courses and Classes that doesn't cost an arm and a leg, and just might save a few machines (and people) from ending up in a lot of hot water!

 

[oldnslo]

$20,000 for back hoe? I bet that isn't the replacement value.

 

[markct]

Just a thought how everyone is blaming the town workers for a bad parking job, its possible that kids, or vandal adults, could have released the parking brake or removed wheelchocks etc. That would be the first thing I would suspect personaly