Global Fastener News

Fastener Blamed for Brick-Sized Chunk Crashing into House

Jason Sandefur

Editor’s Note: Articles in Media Spotlight are excerpts from publications or broadcasts that show the industry what the public is reading or hearing about fasteners and fastener companies.

A loose fastener is being blamed for causing a 3-by-5 inch projectile to rip through the roof of the two-family house in New Jersey after being flung almost 200 yards known, the Star-Ledger reports. The “brick-sized hunk of metal” was determined to be a metal tooth from a piece of industrial equipment used to crush timber and boulders. Early theories of the projectile’s origins included debris from an airplane or plummeting space junk.
After ruling out debris from aircraft, the Federal Aviation Administration now turned the investigation over to local authorities. While investigators still have not determined exactly what launched the hunk of metal, the Star-Ledger noted that the damaged house sits close to the former Military Ocean Terminal, which is being redeveloped into a neighborhood.
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is reportedly investigating the incident.
Local police said the projectile — known as a hammer — came from a piece of equipment called a tub grinder, a tractor-trailer-sized machine most often used to grind wood. A typical tub grinder can have dozens of hammers that spin rapidly on a mill inside a rotating barrel.
In 19 years on the job, heavy machine operator Greg Governale said he’s never seen one come loose.
“It’s my nightmare to have a fastener failure and a piece like that becomes airborne,” Governale said. “It’s a real thing that could happen.” �2007 FastenerNews.com