OSHA investigating the collapse of a crane at SpaceX’s Boca Chica facility
OSHA has now opened an investigation into the collapse of a crane at SpaceX’s Boca Chica facility on June 24, 2025, captured by one of the commercial live streams that track activities there continually for the general public.
I have embedded the video of that collapse below.
A SpaceX crane collapse at the company’s Starbase, Texas facility on Tuesday has prompted an investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the federal agency told CNBC in an email.
The crane collapse was captured in a livestream by Lab Padre on YouTube, a SpaceX-focused channel. Clips from Lab Padre were widely shared on social media, including on X, which is owned by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether any SpaceX workers were injured as a result of the incident. Musk and other company executives didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The article at the link provides no additional information, instead focusing on what appears to be an anti-SpaceX screed. It never mentions that cranes such as this are almost certainly not owned by SpaceX, and are likely rented and operated for SpaceX by other independent crane companies. Thus, this failure is likely a failure of that crane company, not SpaceX directly.
Wow. This has always been one of my biggest fears in every industry I've worked in.
I hope everyone is alright
🎥: @LabPadre pic.twitter.com/OkHsiMeXKm
— Zack Golden (@CSI_Starbase) June 24, 2025
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
OSHA has now opened an investigation into the collapse of a crane at SpaceX’s Boca Chica facility on June 24, 2025, captured by one of the commercial live streams that track activities there continually for the general public.
I have embedded the video of that collapse below.
A SpaceX crane collapse at the company’s Starbase, Texas facility on Tuesday has prompted an investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the federal agency told CNBC in an email.
The crane collapse was captured in a livestream by Lab Padre on YouTube, a SpaceX-focused channel. Clips from Lab Padre were widely shared on social media, including on X, which is owned by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether any SpaceX workers were injured as a result of the incident. Musk and other company executives didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The article at the link provides no additional information, instead focusing on what appears to be an anti-SpaceX screed. It never mentions that cranes such as this are almost certainly not owned by SpaceX, and are likely rented and operated for SpaceX by other independent crane companies. Thus, this failure is likely a failure of that crane company, not SpaceX directly.
Wow. This has always been one of my biggest fears in every industry I've worked in.
I hope everyone is alright
🎥: @LabPadre pic.twitter.com/OkHsiMeXKm
— Zack Golden (@CSI_Starbase) June 24, 2025
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
It’s not a large crane, just one of seemingly dozens of small cranes that can be seen nearly everywhere at Starbase and environs. Too distant a vantage point to tell if the crane in question is a rental or SpaceX-owned. SpaceX slaps its name on anything it owns outright. Rented gear – and there is a lot of rented gear at Starbase and always has been – is readily identifiable as it carries only the names of the manufacturer and/or the rental company.
A further relevant question, as you note, is the matter of whether or not the failed crane was being operated by a contractor or by an actual SpaceX employee at the time of the accident. I suspect it won’t be long before that question has a public answer.
Whether due to operator error, poor engineering at worksites or forces of nature, crane accidents – including many involving pieces of equipment quite a bit larger than this one at Starbase – are common enough that videos of dozens can be found easily on YouTube.
Compared to some of those readily findable there, this one at Starbase looks to be pretty small beer – especially if, as seems the case, no one was seriously injured or killed. Sadly, that is not the case in many of these incidents. There were two fatalities in the collapse of a much larger crane three weeks ago on Merritt Island, FL, for example, in an incident blamed on inclement weather (wind).
I’ve been an advisory product engineer at several construction sites where the construction managers are always trying to take shortcuts in order to make their completion dates. One of our products was being erected on-site, consisting of about a half-dozen separate pieces, each of which was intended (and designed) to be lifted into place one at a time, and then bolted to the next one, and to the top of the structural platform.
At this site I had a construction manager trying to talk me into approving them bolting these components together on the ground and then doing a single one-piece lift “to save time and money”. After throwing a complete [deleted]fit, I carefully, in front of witnesses, explained to him that not only would I not approve that as an advisory engineer, but that our structural engineers had explicitly prohibited doing this, and that it was spelled out that way in the erection manual. I made it painfully clear that not only would he be experiencing sole liability for it, I would find the site structural supervisor and have him completely stop work on the entire site until a more responsible construction manager could be found. He backed off.
Just looking at the video (through some amazing heat-shimmer) it appears that the crane toppled forward in the direction of the load, indicating that it was probably not correctly counter-balanced, or that the outriggers were poorly placed, or that it was simply over-loaded for the lift and/or reach they were attempting. Whoever was in control and charge of that lift is in deep doo-doo.
Blackwing1: You need to reread the rules about commenting. Just glance up a tiny bit. They are there as plain as day. No obscenities allowed.
I have deleted the curse word from your comment. You are warned. Do this again and I’ll ban you for a week.
I’m a construction manager for a multinational company and hold professional safety certifications in oil/gas, general industry and construction. All we can tell from the video is that the crane went down. Untill a thorough investigation is conducted and a official report is published we should hold short on commenting who did or didn’t do what.
Good points all–remember…GSEHund would probably not report this if it happened at a wind farm.
I normally wouldn’t link to reddit but sometimes you find something of value.
https://www.reddit.com/r/SpaceXLounge/comments/1ljlzuj/comment/mzlai4x/
I don’t know how to trust this but seems more helpful than most of what I have seen written about this crane falling over in other places. Quote below is from the linked post.
“We call this “cutting free while rigged” in my corner of industry – and it is one of the most dangerous parts of controlled or piece by piece demolition.
Usually (as the operator), you run quick math to figure out the total volume of what you’re hooked to, +/- 10% MoE, and multiply it against your handy-dandy specific density chart for most base materials.
Unfortunately, a lot of times the guys that are willing to risk their lives way up high in manlifts with a 10′ oxy-mag lance slicing through beams and plate work – well, those guys aren’t exactly the best communicators in the heat of the moment. Sometimes they cut the wrong joint, or misunderstood and cut you off a bigger chunk than you wanted once you are already rigged and in tension.
Once the chunk is free, you have no choice but to ride it out, even if your load cells are indicating critical OL and every alarm in the cab is screaming at you. All you can do is try to get it to the ground as quickly as possible.
Ideally, this should never happen – but in practice, it’s not common, but also not rare. Been there twice personally, but I think so has everyone with significant seat time.
The same can happen if you’re suspending something and demolition cuts cause it to collapse, particularly if it tilts intact and drags its own CG off-axis from your reeve-head. Cranes are obviously meant to withstand and carry load in line with a particular geometry as one would consider vertically planar w/ counterweight. Loads outside of this narrow corridor tend to do really unfortunate things to a structure optimized to withstand insane fatigue cycle, but also not contribute too much against its own limits with flown weight.
I’m assuming this is the second of those two scenarios, as it appears the operator is above a 35° boom angle, but the boom remained intact. Normally, exceeding structural maximum limitations to the point of tip over, at least on a rough terrain crane (assuming but cannot quite make it out) – it’s more common for the boom to collapse, than the crane to tip, especially sideways.”
Heavy equipment guys astound me.
I remember footage of an excavator on a river barge using its bucket as an oar…one “stepped” over an exposed water line…another carefully filled a tiny Tonka toy truck without spilling a grain of sand.
I don’t believe that can be taught.
You either have a golden hand or you don’t.