The TSB has completed this investigation. The report was published on 08 January 2019.
Employee injury
Canadian Pacific Railway
Hi-rail crane boom failure
South service lead track
Mile 0.0, Broadview Subdivision
Brandon, Manitoba
The occurrence
On , at about 1505 Central Daylight Time, a Canadian Pacific Railway Engineering Services work crew was using a truck-mounted boom crane to unload tie plates from a 10-ton hi-rail truck stationed on the south service industrial lead track in Brandon Yard, Manitoba. To operate the controls, the crane operator was sitting in an elevated metal crane operator’s basket secured to the crane column. During a lift, the crane column failed and the crane boom dropped, throwing the crane operator onto the track, about 12 feet below. The crane operator sustained serious injuries and was transported to hospital by ambulance.
Media materials
News releases
Undetected cracks in column weld led to 2017 hi-rail crane boom failure causing injury to CP employee in Brandon, Manitoba
Read the news release
Investigation information
R17W0190
Employee injury
Canadian Pacific Railway
Hi-rail crane boom failure
South service lead track
Mile 0.0, Broadview Subdivision
Brandon, Manitoba
Investigator-in-charge
Jerry Berriault has been with the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) since 2007. He is a senior regional investigator, Central Region, based out of the Winnipeg, Manitoba, office.
Among other responsibilities, he has been the Investigator-in-Charge of eight rail accident investigations and served as a team member in a number of other investigations throughout Canada providing operational and technical expertise.
Before joining the TSB, Mr. Berriault held numerous positions with Canadian National Railway (CN) from 1980 until 2007 including superintendent of operations. While at CN he gained extensive knowledge of all aspects of train operations, including both the mechanical and engineering functions.
Download high-resolution photos from the TSB Flickr page.
Class of investigation
This is a class 3 investigation. These investigations analyze a small number of safety issues, and may result in recommendations. Class 3 investigations are generally completed within 450 days. For more information, see the Policy on Occurrence Classification.
TSB investigation process
There are 3 phases to a TSB investigation
- Field phase: a team of investigators examines the occurrence site and wreckage, interviews witnesses and collects pertinent information.
- Examination and analysis phase: the TSB reviews pertinent records, tests components of the wreckage in the lab, determines the sequence of events and identifies safety deficiencies. When safety deficiencies are suspected or confirmed, the TSB advises the appropriate authority without waiting until publication of the final report.
- Report phase: a confidential draft report is approved by the Board and sent to persons and corporations who are directly concerned by the report. They then have the opportunity to dispute or correct information they believe to be incorrect. The Board considers all representations before approving the final report, which is subsequently released to the public.
For more information, see our Investigation process page.
The TSB is an independent agency that investigates air, marine, pipeline, and rail transportation occurrences. Its sole aim is the advancement of transportation safety. It is not the function of the Board to assign fault or determine civil or criminal liability.