Crane Operators Rescue Corvettes!

Do you remember the car-swallowing sinkhole that opened up inside the National Corvette Museum in February? Early one morning, the ground beneath the Skydome area started caving in. By the end, there was a cavern about 40 feet across and 20-30 feet deep with eight Corvettes inside. You can watch assorted footage of the whole timeline, from collapse to final recovery of the cars, here. There’s even a few with ‘crane-cam’ footage.

You know who the stars of the show are? Heavy equipment operators. The Corvettes just sat there needing to be rescued from the predicament they were in, but cranes and other heavy equipment saved the day. It was a tricky operation, too, because the situation had to be carefully evaluated and stabilized before any Corvette could be moved. The Museum is in the middle of a geological area known for developing sinkholes, so area crane operators probably have a lot of experience with this type of thing. Still, this particular rescue operation was pretty special.

It would be safe to assume that any heavy equipment operator brought in for this project was both skilled and certified. Those Corvettes are worth a good bit of money and the owners were not going to entrust them to someone who isn’t qualified to do the best job in a delicate situation that could change quickly. I’m pretty sure they were picky about finding the best crane operators for the job.

The best crane operators are trained at fully accredited schools like ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Training School. Our Certified Crane Operator Program gives students a lot of options in choosing the best program for their particular need but every one of those options is going to result in a graduate who is qualified for the job.