Lifting Gear Hire Corporation and Imperial Crane Services Inc. recently joined forces to remove Southwest Airlines flight 1248 from the intersection of West 55th Street and Central Avenue in Chicago after the plane skidded off a runway at Midway Airport. Imperial Crane used Lifting Gear Hire’s Modulift 50 spreader beam system, a lifting solution that accommodates awkward loads, to move the Boeing 737-700 jet.

“A spreader beam was needed to complete this task, and the Modulift system was a reliable choice,” said Ricky Bohne of Imperial Crane Services Inc., who supervised the rigging at the site. “In order to move the plane, we set the Modulift beam at 13 feet. The top rigging included 25-foot, 40,000-pound round slings, doubled. Two 12-foot round slings, each with a 66,000 pound capacity, were used on the sides.

“In addition, we used 50-foot, 90,000-pound round slings hooked to each landing gear for towing the plane backwards. We were able to successfully move the airplane back over the curb, through the fence and into the hangar without creating any more damage in about nine hours. Everything went as planned — timely and cautiously.”

“The use of the Modulift beam was an integral part of moving the jet back into the hangar,” said Tony Fiscelli, general manager of Lifting Gear Hire’s U.S. headquarters. “Its ability to be quickly assembled and its span versatility contributed to the timely removal of the plane in this emergency situation.”

Lifting Gear Hire Corporation, a subsidiary of LGH Group plc, specializes in the rental, sales, service, inspection and testing of lifting and winching equipment.

“Our business is about managing resources, solving problems and helping our customers work safely, efficiently and cost effectively by minimizing the cost of equipment ownership,” explained Pat Fiscelli, vice president of LGH’s USA Operations.

LGH stocks more than 80,000 pieces of lifting equipment available for rental through its worldwide locations, which encompass the United States, UK, Holland and Germany.

It also carries numerous hoisting products for rental or sale such as come-a-longs, clamps, manbaskets and barrier grabs.

For more information, visit www.lgh-usa.com.

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