The incident in New York comes at a time when there are a record number of cranes operating in Charlotte.
CHARLOTTE -- Rescue workers pulled out the seventh body Monday following a crane collapse in New York City.
Witnesses said it fell down like a tree hitting three buildings as far as a block away. "This construction accident is one of the worst the city's ever had," said New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
This comes at a time when there are a record number of cranes operating in Charlotte.
"Anytime in our industry there's an accident, it's usually front page news tragedy because there's usually loss of life," said Dennis Kenna, president of Heade Southeast, Inc.
Kenna operates as many as 40 tower cranes across the region, including 20 operating in Center City Charlotte alone.
"There's accidents in construction everyday. Again, if a tower crane goes over everybody starts looking at tower cranes as being an unsafe object, but they're really not. They're actually really fail-safe, one of the safest tools on the job site.
The North Carolina Department of Labor reports four deaths involving cranes across the state since 2004.
The North Carolina Department of Labor reports four deaths involving cranes across the state since 2004.
Kenna said those weren't tower cranes, and he swears by their safety. "The cranes are manufactured almost fail-safe. Human error or not following the manufacturer’s recommendations are what usually what causes you to have a problem."
"Every day the crane’s visually inspected by the operators. He makes his climb to work just like the rest of us commute to work, he climbs the tower to go to work. He visually inspects many, many different items on the crane," said Kenna.
Using a cement base and counter weights, some of these cranes can carry up to 40,000 pounds.
"It's a marvel, how the machine works, but it is all very, very safe," said Kenna.
In May 2004, a man was killed after he was struck by the crane while working on a project in Statesville.
In August 2004, a large steel beam crushed and killed a Charlotte man at 'Steel Fab' in West Charlotte. He was using an overhead crane to move the beam when it broke free and fell.
In May of 2006, a construction worker was seriously injured at the Trademark building construction site at the corner of Mint and Fourth streets. A large concrete bucket fell from a crane and hit a worker who suffered a broken neck, arm and legs.
In November 2006, a crane collapsed at a construction site at Third and Caldwell streets. No one was hurt, though a traffic light post was knocked down on Third Street, narrowly missing a nearby car.
In March 2007, a man was killed at Metromont Industrial Boulevard in north Charlotte when the counter weights fell off the truck, crushing the man.