A 1990-era Liftall model HTMS forklift fell into Lake Winnipesaukee in Gilford on 6 November, perhaps after brake failure. The operator escaped unharmed.

The Mountain View Yacht Club owns the equipment and uses it to load and unload boats from the water, says club manager Dan Littlefield.

An underwater team from Dive Winnipesaukee Corp of Wolfeboro, New Hampshire helped rigging specialists attach cables and slings to the forklift in about 5 ft. (1.5 m) of water near the club's boat docks.

A crew from Reliable Crane Service LLC of Laconia, New Hampshire used a Link-Belt HTT-8670LB crane to lift the forklift onto plastic sheeting on the ground, says Dennis Wright, Reliable owner. The forklift weighs 43,000 lb. (19,350 kg), according to the crane's scale.

For environmental reasons, the move to shore was achieved without changing the forklift's positional angle. The authorities "did not want us to move it around too much", Wright notes.

On 7 November, two cranes returned the forklift to its normal upright position. With a severe snowstorm approaching, workers quickly shrink-wrapped the machine in plastic to avoid the further spread of oil or other contaminants.

Littlefield reports a trucker was transporting the forklift for technical analysis and repair at the Auburn, Maine headquarters of materials handling equipment dealership WD Matthews Machinery Co.

D-7 Manufacturing Inc of Sparks, Nevada, which owns the Liftall forklift brand, is acquainted with the family-owned and -operated Matthews organisation.

In waters adjacent to the spill site, representatives from the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, the Pembrook, New Hampshire centre of Enpro Services Inc and the Gilford fire department utilised booms and absorbent pads to clean up the oil spill.