Boeing Worker Killed As Cab Of Crane Falls From Ceiling -- Overhead Operations Stopped After 60-Foot Plunge

The Boeing worker who died yesterday when the cab of the crane he was operating detached from its ceiling rails and plunged 60 feet was a 17-year company veteran who had worked most of his career in the Renton building where the accident occurred.

Dean Morris, 55, had worked as a crane operator since 1986. He was employed in the Wing Responsibility Center, moving wings and wing component parts with a crane that travels on a network of rails along the ceiling.

Boeing has stopped overhead crane operations at its Renton facility until the company determines it is safe to resume them, spokesman Randy Harrison said yesterday.

The company and the state Department of Labor and Industries are investigating why the cab Morris was sitting in broke free from its rail at about 8:10 a.m. Boeing also is conducting a companywide examination of its cranes.

Morris was one of 66 crane operators at the plant. The operators were consulted after the accident and "will be integrally involved" in the investigations, Harrison said.

Work in the area of the accident, where wings are attached to the planes, was halted following the accident, said Bob Sailing, another Boeing spokesman.

Morris' wife and one of his sons also work at Boeing's Renton complex; another son works at the company's Everett plant, Harrison said. He did not say whether Morris' wife and son worked with him, and the company did not disclose where Morris lived.

Bill Ripple, spokesman for Labor and Industries, said the agency could take up to six months to complete its investigation, but it likely will be completed much sooner.