10 inch Drill bit almost Pierces Subway in NYC

And you thought ebola was the worst thing to fear in the ny subway system.

A contractor was using the drill to expand a well as part of the project, but drilled too deeply. An F train carrying 800 people was about 700 feet away from the 21st St. Station in Long Island City late Thursday afternoon when it was skimmed by the bit, which did not puncture a passenger apartment. No one was injured.

Thankfully, no one was injured but boy, that was close. I keep saying, forget Isis and ebola - rampant incompetence, carelessness and sheer stupidity are far more dangerous these days. The MTA in NY takes said incompetence to whole new levels.

800 people were on board at the time.

“That’s a near miss,” an MTA supervisor said, wondering what would have happened if the bit had made a direct hit and punctured a subway car’s passenger compartment. “Oh my God! If it had hit the train, you could forget about it! Of course we are concerned.”

Somebody’s not doing their job, that’s for sure,” Berkowitz concluded. - ya think?!?!

www.nydailynews.com...

Holy moly.

That is not what I was expecting to see.

Somebody lost their job today

originally posted by: ValentineWiggin
Holy moly.

That is not what I was expecting to see.

Somebody lost their job today

I doubt it.

originally posted by: ValentineWiggin
Holy moly.

That is not what I was expecting to see.

Somebody lost their job today

I doubt it.

a reply to: badgerprints

And you are probably right. Very rarely is anyone held accountable, which is part of the reason why the incompetence and shoddy work continues. Especially true in New York.

I honestly hope this was reported immediately so no one would get injured. Don't they have tools to check how far down you can go?

They have to do math.
That's the problem

They have to do math.
That's the problem

Don't know why I keep double posting.


Maybe I should check my math.

That's a 10 inch drill bit?

I was expecting something like a 10 inch rock bit used in oil and gas drilling.

Anyone else besides me wondering WTF would anyone be doing 'expanding a well' in Long Island?

Does the word 'well' no longer mean what it used to or is this just more of the typical MSM blather we all know and love?

originally posted by: roadgravel
That's a 10 inch drill bit?

I was expecting something like a 10 inch rock bit used in oil and gas drilling.

It's more like an auger I guess. The counterclockwise threads lift the cuttings. It's a well expansion so it's probably an existing well to pump ground water from around the tunnels.

They probably miscounted the number of pipe joints and went too far.