As the need of handling heavy materials increases, various cranes are used in industries. However, the effectiveness of crane also entails industrial accidents such as falling, constriction etc. In fact, the number of fatal accidents caused by crane is still high in Korea. To find out the causes of the accidents in terms of human error, we developed a man-machine system model that consists of two axes; human information processing and crane life cycle. In the human information processing dimension, we simplified it as five functions; sensing and perception, decision making and memory, response etc. In the crane life cycle dimension, we divided it into nine phases; design, production, operation etc. For the 152 fatal accident records during 1999-2006 years, we classified them into 45 cells made by two axes. Then we identified the preceding causes of the classified crane accident based on performance shaping factors. As the results of statistical analysis, the overall trend of crane fatal accidents was described. For the cause analysis, wrong decision making in work plan phase shows the highest frequency. Next, the poor information input in crane operation followed in accident frequency. In ergonomics view, the problems of interface design in displays and controls made 11.8% of fatal accidents. Following the analysis, several ergonomic design guidelines to prevent crane accidents were suggested.