Konecranes UK has now been fined £8,000 by Newcastle magistrates and ordered to pay costs of £7,529 for the August 2009 accident.
The court heard how workers were attempting to relocate the 15m runway beam of an overhead crane from one end of a warehouse to the other at Siemens Energy Services, in Shields Road, Newcastle.
The slings failed, however, and the 4t load crashed down, partially demolishing a warehouse office. It was only good fortune that the office was empty at the time.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which brought the prosecution, revealed the operation had not been properly planned by Konecranes, which led to the wrong equipment being used.
Konecranes UK Ltd, of Lloyds House, Albion Road, West Bromwich, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 8(1)(c) of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998.
After the case, HSE inspector Andrew Woodhall, said: "This was an entirely preventable incident with the real potential to cause serious injury or even death. That Konecranes UK ignored the legal requirement for lifting operations to be planned properly and carried out in a safe manner is unacceptable.
"The Konecranes operatives had no advance warning of the failure of the slings and as it happened they had a narrow and lucky escape.
"Fortunately, no-one was hurt on this occasion but this alarming incident should act as a reminder to others that standards need to be maintained to ensure the safety of workers at all times."
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