Lawsuits Filed Over Boise, Idaho, Hangar Deaths
The families of two workers who died in the collapse of a hangar in Idaho on January 31 have filed a wrongful death lawsuit, seeking damages from the construction team. They allege that the builders "recklessly" hurried the construction. Mariano Coc Och, 32, and Mario Sontay Tsi, 24, died when the hangar under construction at an airfield near the Boise Airport collapsed on them. Craig Durrant, 59, co-founder of Meridian-based general contractor Big D Builders, also perished in the collapse, and nine others were injured.
The lawsuit, filed on July 9 in the U.S. District Court of Idaho, claims that the construction team faced penalties from project owner Jackson Jet if they did not complete the hangar on time. Consequently, the defendants allegedly conspired to finish the project quickly using materials that were not sufficiently safe or effective. In addition to Big D Builders, the lawsuit names local firms Steel Building Systems, Inland Crane, and Speck Steel as defendants.
According to the lawsuit, MBCI, the project’s Houston-based supplier of prefabricated steel, did not provide cross bracing pieces. As a result, the project team created its own crucial cross bracing without obtaining approval from the City of Boise.
"The difference in the parts used versus MBCI parts 'is enormous and monumental,'" the suit stated. The typical parts are made of high-quality alloys that are machine-welded in authorized facilities.
"In contrast, the Big D-, SBS- and Speck Steel-manufactured parts were not of a conforming size to fit the MBCI pre-fabricated structure, were manufactured in unauthorized welding labs, were rushed, were improperly and poorly welded and are marked by a different color," the lawsuit alleged.
Witnesses reported that the hangar’s cables snapped, and the bracing began to come apart on January 30, the day before the collapse. The suit alleges this was due to the rushed construction.
Och and Tsi had been pulled from other construction projects and directed to report to the hangar on January 26. They were instructed to work overtime from January 29 to January 31 to ensure the hangar’s shell was completed by the day of the collapse.
The lawsuit does not specify the amount of damages the plaintiffs are seeking.
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