The families of two construction workers killed in the collapse of a hangar in Idaho earlier this year have sued the contractors who were building it.
Workers of Big D Builders were assembling the framework of the 39,000-sq-ft structure at the Jackson Jet Center at Boise Air Terminal/Gowen Field (KBOI) when it collapsed in high winds on January 31, killing the two workers who—according to the lawsuit—were sent by the contractor from another site because the project was behind schedule. Also killed in the disaster was the construction company’s co-owner.
The legal documents claim a variety of infractions, including that the builder had a set of building plans approved by the city but decided to use a second set provided by Steel Building Systems that called for less bracing. They also allege that on the day of the tragedy, three of the four support cranes on the site were removed by Inland Crane, while the remaining one was not rated for high winds and was improperly attached to the structure.
Lastly, the lawsuit states that the building was being constructed from a mix of pre-fabricated and locally manufactured components that did not fit together properly. A report on the accident from the Occupational Health and Safety Administration is expected in the coming months.